AN: Here's this. I guess I have nothing to say for myself except I wanted to write it, so I did. I won't' promise it'll be the last piece here (and it probably won't be). It's just self-indulgent fluffies.

If you read it, though, then I hope you enjoy it!

Let me know what you think!

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"Daddy!"

Daryl heard the familiar sound not a few feet behind him and he stopped his forward progress. He turned around to see Sophia trotting after him as fast her little legs would carry her. She was barely able to keep her balance as she struggled to hold onto the snuggly blanket and toy combo that she was carrying with her while she ran.

Daryl's heart caught in his chest with the nervous feeling that he was seconds away from seeing her take a bad tumble—the kind that would skin a knee or a hand and leave her wailing. He could practically see the blanket part of the toy getting tangled around her legs, and it would all be because she feared that he would leave her behind.

"Slow down, Soph!" Daryl barked. "Stop runnin'! I'm waitin' on ya. Ain't goin' nowhere."

It was true. Daryl wasn't going anywhere. At least, he wasn't going anywhere important. He was headed down to the pigpen because that's where he imagined Rick might be. Of course, in Sophia's world, the pigpen was a wondrous place. They had some fairly small little pigs that had been born out of season and Sophia loved to get in there and pretend to be one of the litter.

Sophia slowed down at Daryl's words and toddled like she was half-drunk to meet him. She held her arms up, tired after her trot, as she neared Daryl. He reached down and scooped her up, resting her against his hip.

"I thought your Ma told you not to take the lamb outta the prison no more after the last time you left it outside," Daryl said, touching the snuggly toy that she held to her chest to direct her to what he was talking about.

The lamb was essentially a head with a blanket body. Sophia had a collection of snuggly toys—all of which she loved with a great deal of devotion—but the lamb was particularly special. She liked to trail it around with her everywhere. The action meant that Carol spent a good deal of her time washing the thing and assuring Sophia that she could have it back when it dried. Once, Sophia had taken the lamb outside with her and had left it somewhere. It wasn't until bedtime that she realized that she couldn't find it. She'd kept the whole prison awake by screaming bloody murder over the thought of sleeping without it. Daryl had bumped around in the dark for half a night trying to retrace the steps of a toddler by flashlight until he'd finally found the lamb hung over the fence at the horse's pen. Since then, Carol had forbidden Sophia to take the lamb outside, but it appeared that Sophia had made her great escape with the toy.

Sophia frowned at Daryl's question and shook her head. She hugged her toy closer to her. Daryl laughed to himself.

"I guess it don't hurt nothin'," he said. "Just hold onto him."

Daryl wasn't going to rat her out or take her toy. Instead, he simply made a mental note that he'd put in some special effort to find another one—or at least something similar—the next time he was on a run. It couldn't hurt to have a backup.

They'd have to do a run soon, after all. He and Carol were going to need things when their little one made its debut.

Their little one was the reason for Daryl's impromptu trip to the pigpen to see Rick.

Daryl had been imagining their little one for just over twenty-four hours now. It had been one whole day since he'd known that the child was actually in existence. To look at Carol, he'd never know it. She was thin—too thin in Daryl's opinion, and that was something he planned to remedy—and showed no signs of carrying a child. Still, she promised him that the little one was there and that he had been there, more than likely, for a couple of months. Only Hershel knew about the baby, and the only reason that he'd found out about him before Daryl had was because Carol had wanted to be sure about the little thing before she broke that kind of news to Daryl.

It was something he'd dreamed of, but he'd never imagined it might actually happen.

Sharing in Sophia's life was one of the most special things that he could imagine, and he never wanted her to feel like he didn't love her with everything he had, but he also dreamed of actually having a child with Carol.

He wanted all of it. He wanted every possible experience with Carol that he could have. He wanted everything he saw that Rick had with Lori.

He wanted more, because there were things that happened between Rick and Lori that Daryl swore to himself would never happen with his family.

His family.

Family was the most beautiful word that ever he'd heard since his family had come to mean Carol and Sophia.

Somewhere out there, he imagined he might still have a brother—he liked to pretend that he hadn't actually died after he'd cut his hand off to escape a rooftop in Atlanta—but Daryl's experience with family had always been a bit rocky before. He'd always dreamed of the perfect picture book family, but he'd never imagined that was in the cards for him.

Then Carol had come into his life bringing Sophia, and she'd given him that. Now, it seemed, she was determined to give him even more.

And Daryl had her blessing to start to share the news when it pleased him.

He wanted desperately to share it, too. He could taste it on his tongue. He wanted everyone to know that he and Carol were going to build their family.

They'd all talked, after all, about the possibility of more babies after Rick's daughter, Judith, had been born. They'd spoken about it as something inevitable. There would be more babies. Their extended family would grow. There would be more life to fill the fences of the prison.

It had always felt, though, like they weren't talking about Daryl and Carol. Yet, here they were, the first that would be announcing their new arrival.

Riding Sophia on his hip, Daryl practically danced down the hill toward the pigpens. Sophia laughed at the bounce in his step, and he hammed it up for her benefit. He stopped once to toss her up and bounce her dramatically, and she begged him to repeat the action. He repeated it only once, not wanting to scramble the lunch that he knew she'd only recently eaten. She would, after all, spit it up everywhere if she was jostled too much and too soon. She had a sensitive stomach, a bit like her mother at times.

Of course Daryl was starting to wonder if Carol's recently sensitive stomach was more owing to the little Dixon that she harbored instead of a simple predisposition to parting company with her meals.

Daryl would have never imagined that thinking of something so base would bring a smile to his face, but it did—oddly enough.

At the pigpens, Sophia begged to be put down and Daryl stopped her before she could trot off.

"Gimme the lamb," he said.

She whined at him and hugged the toy. She was ready for a nap. Carol had probably meant to put her down and had gotten momentarily distracted. Sophia had probably escaped. She was trying to skip her nap for a game with the piglets, and it would mean that she was grumpy for the rest of the day.

It wouldn't be the first time, though. Daryl wiggled his fingers at her.

"You don't want him gettin' all piggy smellin' an' muddy, Soph," Daryl insisted. "I'll keep him here with me. Keep him safe. I promise."

Sophia finally relinquished the lamb, eye-balling Daryl like she wanted him to be sure that he knew that she was trusting him with a prized possession. He tossed the thing over his shoulder to carry it with him so that she could see it was safe. As soon as he gave her permission to go, she trotted forward, slipped under the lowest rail of the fence, and practically dived into the mud.

Daryl knew, already, that he'd be responsible for her bath.

It didn't take long at all to find Rick. His work with the pigs was done, but he stood simply watching them as he leaned against the fence railing. He smiled when Sophia came into sight and then he smiled when he glanced in Daryl's direction.

"She's going to be terribly sad when we eat those pigs," Rick pointed out.

"She understands stuff like that," Daryl said. "We eat everythin' else. She knows it's temporary an' them animals ain't pets. Still—don't mean she don't like playin' with 'em while she can."

"You and Carol—you're doing a good job raising her to understand this world," Rick said. "You don't shelter her. That's a good thing."

"Shelterin' her ain't gonna keep her alive," Daryl said. "I guess that's the most important thing. Helpin' her know what's what—helpin' her handle it. That's what's gonna see her to a ripe old age. That's what the hell we want."

"I hope we can prepare Judith the same way," Rick said.

He didn't sound convinced that they could. Maybe, Daryl thought, he was just doubting his ability to agree with his wife on how they should handle things. Rick and Lori had more troubles than they had happy times these days. Daryl figured that the only reason that they weren't divorced was because the prison wasn't really large enough for them to live separately. They'd still have to interact with each other. At least for the time being, it was probably just easier to stay married.

"Lil' Asskicker ain't but a couple months old, Rick," Daryl said. He laughed to himself. "There's still some time for her to learn the hard lessons about life. Soph—she's seen a bit more'n Jude."

"Yeah," Rick mused. "She was born here. Inside the fences. She doesn't know the life on the road that Sophia's seen—herds and travelling every day. She's lucky."

"She is," Daryl echoed. "This place we got. It's a good thing."

"It is," Rick echoed.

"That's kinda what I come down here to talk to you about," Daryl said.

Rick furrowed his brow at him.

"Judith?" Rick asked. "Or the prison?"

"Both an' neither," Daryl said quickly. "You know we was—well—we was talkin' about growin' this place with the spring. Bigger fences. More safety. Bringin' people in, even, if we can find 'em around. Growin' this place in every sense of the word."

"I seem to recall that conversation," Rick said with a laugh. "I recall that some were against it."

Daryl shook his head, knowing fully that Rick was talking about him.

"Not against it," he said. "Just—cautious about new people until we figure out how we gonna vet 'em an' how we gonna handle 'em. We know they's gotta be people around, but we gotta have somethin' in place to make sure this place stays safe. We got a lot ridin' on it."

"Carl. Judith. Sophia," Rick ticked off.

"An' even more'n that," Daryl said. "But we talked about—about how it's all gonna grow natural like, too. You an' Lori had Asskicker. It's gonna grow. Our numbers are gonna grow."

"Yeah," Rick said. "I imagine that it won't be too long before Glenn and Maggie are ready to add to the family."

"I wasn't talkin' about them, Rick," Daryl said.

Rick furrowed his brow at Daryl and Daryl found it difficult to swallow for just a moment. He had only just learned about the baby, but he felt like he'd waited a lifetime to say this. Now he couldn't find the words.

"What are you trying to say, Daryl?" Rick pressed. "Are you and Carol thinking about..."

"Not thinkin' about," Daryl said quickly. "We are. In the spring. Lil' thing's no bigger'n a minute right now but it's there."

A smile immediately broke across Rick's face. Maybe he even blushed, though it was difficult to tell under the dirt of the day and the growth of his beard. He embraced Daryl and Daryl happily accepted it. Daryl didn't try to hold back his own smile when they pulled out of the hug.

"How about that," Rick said. "I didn't expect it, honestly."

"I got the feelin' nobody was expectin' it when we was talkin' about growin' this place," Daryl said. "Just the same..."

"Congratulations," Rick said sincerely. The word sounded like music in Daryl's ears and he smiled at it.

"Don't want'cha to tell nobody," Daryl said. "Not even Lori. Carol wants to do some tellin' an' I don't wanna steal her thunder none. But—she told me I could start to tell, too."

Rick nodded his head.

"My lips are sealed until you tell me it's free to discuss," Rick said.

"Wanted to talk to you about the next run. Wanna go out soon. Carol's gonna need some things. I wanna get her whatever she needs. I don't want her havin' no worries," Daryl said.

Rick nodded.

"Whatever you want. Whenever you want," he said.

"Gimme a day or two," Daryl said. "Let it sink in good for her an' get her to make a list. Give her time to think."

"She'll want to nest," Rick said.

"She can build whatever she's got a mind to build," Daryl said. "She can have a nest if that's what she wants."

Rick laughed to himself.

"How about that?" He mused. "A baby. A Dixon baby. I never would've thought of you as a Daddy the first time I met you. But—here you are. A baby on the way."

"I'm already Daddy," Daryl said quickly.

"I didn't mean anything by it," Rick said.

Daryl nodded his head.

"Just want everyone to be clear," Daryl said. "I don't want—I don't want it makin' Soph feel no kinda way. I'm her Daddy every bit as much as I can be."

Rick nodded his understanding.

"I meant—here you are becoming a Daddy again."

Daryl smiled to himself.

"Yeah," he said. "Yeah—again. And—we pretty excited."

"Sophia's proof that you'll both do great at it," Rick said. "But—can I give my congratulations to Carol? Even though we're keeping things quiet?"

"Yeah," Daryl said. "Just do it quiet like."

Rick nodded.

"Congratulations to you too, again," Rick said. "Fatherhood looks good on you."

Daryl smiled to himself and watched Sophia cavorting around with the piglets.

"Thanks," he said. "It feels pretty damn good, too."