So, consider this chapter you guy's Christmas present. I had originally meant for it to be posted tomorrow but I was so excited about it that I couldn't wait. Its the muchly anticipation reunion chapter between Daryl and Tessa and while there are certainly a little bit of fluff between them, there is also a Rick x Michonne fluffy part as well as Ethan x Wren fluff and, well . . . there's just a lot of fluff to go around this chapter, lets just say that, ha ha.
DarylDixon'sLover: Thanks, hun :)
NanamiYatsumaki: Merry Christmas to you too, hun, and here's that chapter for you :)
HaloHunter89: I had originally wanted Wren and Beth's claws to come out but it didn't . . . it didn't seem like them. Maybe later, depending on what AMC throws me, Wren's claws might come out, but for that particular moment, I figured and awkward talk would be better. And you are gonna like the flashback chapters - I hope everyone will. And of COURSE I'm keeping you guys in suspense! I wouldn't be me if I didn't! ;)
Hope you guys have an amazing Christmas and/or happy holidays and I'll see you next week! :)
With love!
- Nagiana
PS - About those flashback chapters - let me know ASAP if there's something you wanna see. I'm open to almose anything!
"Dad, look!"
Rick heaved a sigh and looked up from the walker he had so recently stabbed through the head with an iron pipe, only to see headlights in the distance leading up to the prison. That sigh turned into one of relief. It was the others – they were back! Thank God they were back!
"Everything's gonna be okay now . . ." Carl told him, relief evident in his voice as well, and Rick numbly nodded as Carl quickly ran down to let them in. He stood there, though, and gazed around him, at the walkers piled inches deep from when they had scaled the fence and came tumbling over – the walkers that Rick and Carl had single-handedly defeated. It had probably been one of the most heart-racing moments of his life and for once, he was grateful that he had Carl there to help him. He wouldn't have been able to do it on his own.
He brought out his thoughts just in time to run and grab the gate that would allow the car admittance to the inner courtyard of the prison. He watched as the minivan moved inside and then closed the gate behind it.
"Sasha – how's Sasha?" Tyrese asked him before the car had even stopped moving as he opened his door. Daryl did the same and Rick numbly nodded.
"I don't know, I'm sorry," He told him before settling his eyes onto Daryl. "But you need to go see Tess ASAP."
Daryl's face paled at his words and Rick could see it, even in the darkness of the night that surrounded them. "Why - what happened to her?" He asked and Rick shook his head.
"She . . . she needs to tell you herself." He told him and Daryl nodded in understanding as he turned on his heels and took off at a sprint for the administration building that she and the other children and people were cloistered away in. Ethan threw a look of slight confusion after him and Rick nodded in his direction. "Go follow him – you need to see your momma too."
Ethan still held a look of confusion as he nodded and took off after his father – a look of confusion that everyone else adopted as well. "What's wrong?" Michonne asked and Rick shook his head as he moved over to her and pulled her into his arms in a tight embrace. She froze for a moment before giving a light laugh and hugging him back. "Rick, baby, what's wrong?" She asked and Sam's face echoed the same look of confusion as he moved out of the van and over to them. Rick recoiled in shock when he saw him and when him and Michonne broke apart, she fought to hold back a grin.
"Jesus, what happened to you?" He asked and Sam opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by Michonne.
"He got on the wrong side of Daryl. Now please, Rick – why did Ethan and Daryl run off so fast to Tessa?"
Rick heaved a sigh and turned a weak look down onto her. "She . . . she suffered a miscarriage while you guys were gone," He told her and immediately, Michonne's eyes widened in shock, as did Sam's. "It was in the shower. Maggie and the girls got her out in time and she resting for now but it was . . . it was traumatic."
Michonne nodded. "Well course of it was!" She shook her head, a sudden guilty look appearing on her face as she put her hands to her mouth. Stupid her – why didn't she have the sense to get more than one pregnancy test?!
"Is she alright?" Sam asked, concern flickering across his features and Rick nodded.
"Yeah, she's fine, but . . ." He heaved a sigh as he turned his eyes onto Michonne. "There's something else I gotta tell you too. Come on . . ."
"Tess?! Tessa!?"
Tessa's heart immediately started racing when she heard Daryl's worried voice calling to her from the hallway outside the room she shared with Wren and the twins. She nodded and quickly threw the covers off of her before moving towards the door, as fast as she could, frantic to see the one person she had wanted to see since he left.
"Daryl – Daryl, I'm in here, baby!" She called back, as loudly as she could without waking the twins or Wren, before flinging open the door. She saw the look of intense relief that echoed across his eyes and his face before he moved towards her. She felt herself swept up into a whirlwind of strong arms, a heated embrace and a deep, longing kiss filled to the brim with silken tongue. When they broke apart, Tessa wanted to laugh at the relief that continued to fill his eyes and which made his voice come out much faster than it normally would.
"I was so worried the entire time and then when we got back and Rick told me I needed to see ya, I-I immediately thought of tha worst -!"
"Shh!" She quickly interrupted him before motioning towards Wren and the twins. He nodded and promptly shut up as he set her down on her feet and she pulled him further into the room so that they wouldn't disturb anyone else by talking in the hall. "I'm fine – everyone is fine; you don't have to worry!" She assured him quietly and with a light, indulgent laugh as she sat down on the edge of the cot. He gave her an apprehensive look and opened his mouth to speak as he took a seat beside her, but was interrupted by the pounding of footsteps on the wood floor of the hallway outside. The door was thrown open and when Ethan appeared in the doorway, a frightened look on his face, Daryl and Tessa both shushed him when he yelled out, 'Momma!' in the process.
"Good Lord, boy, can' ya see tha' tha twins and Wren are sleepin'?" Daryl hissed at him and immediately, a hot path of blush burned across his face. He nodded and moved further into the room, his eyes lingering on Wren for a moment before he darted over to gratefully hug his mother. Tessa took him into a tight embrace for a moment, feeling his worry for her in every tense muscle in his body and she smiled a small smile.
"I'm fine, baby – I'm fine!" She murmured to him and he nodded, relief evident in his eyes as she pressed a loving kiss to his forehead before releasing him. He immediately moved over to Wren and sat down on the floor beside her and the cot she was sleeping on because he didn't want to disturb her by trying to slide in beside her – something he had yet to master and something which would take years before he finally would. He did manage to slide his fingers into hers, though, and she immediately latched onto them, their entwined fingers making him give a small smile that Daryl and Tessa couldn't help but echo.
"I'm so happy your back!" Tessa murmured to Daryl as she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him close to her, and he nodded in silent agreement as he turned his face into hers and pressed a loving kiss to the corner of her mouth.
"Yeah, I'm back, babydoll – back to stay this time!" He promised her before his gaze turned searching. "Now what's wrong? Why did Rick tell me I needed to see ya ASAP?" He asked and she gave him a small, tired smile and shook her head.
"I'm tired, Daryl, and I don't feel like talking about this right now – so can we please talk about it in the morning?" She asked and he nodded, his eyes moving to settle on Ethan across the way for a moment. He already had his head lying on the cot's pillow beside Wren's and was quickly falling asleep, their fingers still tightly intertwined. He didn't blame the boy and now that he was actually sitting down and content with the knowledge that everyone in his family was safe, he felt a certain exhaustion sweep over him as well. They had been through a lot these past couple of days . . . all he wanted to do was sleep!
"Yeah . . . yeah, we can. Now come on, let's get to bed -"
"Oh no – what the Hell do you think you're doing?"
Daryl released a low groan of frustration at her words as Tessa grinned and let out a laugh. He shook his head in turn. "Tess, I'm exhausted – ya exhausted – can we please skip this showering bullshit for jus' one night?" He asked with a whine lacing his tone, and she shook her head with another laugh.
"I was actually waiting for this. I need one too – so come on, help me up!"
Daryl furrowed his eyebrows in slight confusion but did as she told him. After toeing off his boots, he got to his feet and slowly helped her to hers, a grimace crossing her face at the slight pain that shot throughout her lower stomach at the feeling. She quickly gathered up what they would need and his look of confusion deepened, especially when she clung to him and they slowly made their way to the door. They left as silently as they could to better keep the kids soundly asleep and once the door closed behind them, Daryl bent down and after hooking an arm underneath her knees, picked her up in his arms, where he carried her the last short distance to the showers. She rolled her eyes.
"Daryl, you do know that I can walk, right?"
"Yeah, well, if ya did, then it'd take us years to get there and back with how slow ya movin' – no offense." He quickly added with a smile and she simply shook her head in playful exasperation. When they entered the showers seconds later, he set her gently on her feet before moving forward and cutting on one of the showers. He was exhausted and it took him a moment for his sleep-deprived body to regulate the temperature to where it would be comfortable enough for the both of them.
They both stripped as quickly as they could and when they were under the water, Daryl couldn't help but shiver in delight at the feeling. Tessa shot a smug smile up at him. "See, what do I always tell ya whenever ya complain about not wanting to take a shower before you come to bed?" She asked and he rolled his eyes but gave a grin nonetheless as he closed his eyes and tilted his head back slightly so that the water could rush down his body, the dirt and any blood left on him, swirling down the drain along with the clear liquid.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever . . . it does feel pretty amazin', though, I will admit . . ." He muttered and Tessa smile and shook her head as she moved closer to him, his arms wrapping around her waist as she wrapped hers around his back. They stood there, under the hot spray, holding each other for a moment and reveling at being back in each other's arms.
"Ya at least wanna hint to me at what happened to ya when I was gone?" He finally asked, his tone slightly teasing, but it didn't stop Tessa's heart rate from picking up slightly.
"You sure you really wanna know . . .?"
Daryl gave a snort of a laugh. "Does a bear shit in tha woods?"
Tessa gave a laugh as she broke apart from him slightly. "Well, right now, there's no easy way to say this, but . . ." His eyebrows furrowed in slight confusion, slight interest and she gave him a small smile as she took up one of his hands and then pressed it flat against her stomach. "You might be a daddy again, Daryl . . ."
"You do realize that Daryl's not gonna take kindly to the fact that Carol's gone, right?"
Rick nodded at Michonne's words before swallowing hard. Her arms tightened around his neck slightly but it wasn't in a suffocating way that Lori's had been like, especially towards the end. It was in a comfortingly, gentle way and when he felt her fingers rubbing soothingly at the back of his neck, he felt himself relax somewhat. "Now you know why I ain't exactly excited about telling him!" He told her with a slightly laugh before shaking his head. "And now that Tess might be expecting again . . . just the thought that we only have one person left now with the capabilities to deliver a baby – he ain't gonna take kindly to it."
"Rick, it needed to be done! She killed two of our own without knowing if they would be fine - she earned it!" She assured him slowly, firmly, and Rick turned an uncertain gaze onto her.
"Was it?" He shook his head. "What if something happens to Hershel? I doubt Martin's ever delivered a baby before, let alone knows how to. And after what you told me happened between the two of them at the school after him and Sam's fight, I doubt that Daryl would let him anywhere near her, period!" He swallowed hard. "I . . . I might have killed their baby, Michonne – I might have killed her!" Michonne stubbornly shook her head then.
"No, Rick, don't think that way -!"
"I'm not!" He interrupted her before giving a laugh. "Believe me, I'm not! But Daryl might. And it's that kind of thought process that leads to things coming to blows between him and another person - like it did with him and Sam and like it almost did with him and Martin if Ethan and Tyrese hadn't intervened in time. And looking at how Sam looked . . ." He gave another laugh and a shake of his head. "I don't exactly wanna be on that man's shitlist!"
Daryl was numb.
He had been numb the entire time that it had taken for him and Tyrese to drive a load of walker corpses down to the grassy courtyard for burning and when they drove back up to the inner courtyard, where Tyrese asked Hershel how Glenn was doing, he hardly noticed it still when he told the old man that Glenn was a tough bastard and that he'd get through it.
"You might be a daddy again, Daryl . . ."
The words echoed through his head like a pinball in a pinball machine and when Hershel gave him a small, weak smile, he fought to return it.
"Something tells me you got some news last night." He spoke, his voice gentle and slightly amused when Daryl walked up to him. The younger man swallowed hard before nodding.
"Y-Yeah, she told me last night. Was it bad?" He asked and Hershel gave a shrug.
"I wasn't there, so I don't know for sure, but Maggie said she didn't think she lost it. If she lost it, then there would have more blood than they found."
"She was in tha shower when it happened, though. Couldn' tha blood have washed down tha drain?"
Hershel nodded as he placed his hands on his hips "Well, of course it could have, but you're missing the point. Whether Tessa is pregnant or not, she's in a very fragile state right now, Daryl. She needs all the rest and relaxation she can get – a very stress-free life for the next couple of months. We'll know if she's still pregnant after a few months have gone by and the pregnancy still progresses."
Daryl nodded, feeling himself assured slightly, but not by much. "What 'bout Carol? She'll wanna know if she doesn' already. She delivered Danny and Aayla – I'm sure she'll deliver this one as well."
Hershel gazed at him for a moment, a gaze that Daryl immediately didn't like and eventually, Hershel heaved a sigh. "Talk to Rick about her, okay? She's okay – Lizzie and Mika are okay – just talk to Rick about her." Daryl nodded and Hershel gave him a smile. "Come get me if anything happens with Tess, okay?"
Daryl nodded again and it was then that Hershel turned around and moved off in the other direction – the direction that Tyrese had walked off in. Daryl stood there for a minute before shaking his head and walking off. Why did he need to talk to Rick when Carol could be somewhere in the prison right now? What the Hell had gone on while they were gone?
"Aw fuck!"
Daryl looked up and gave a smile and a laugh when he saw that Sam had been the one who had spoken the two words. The man had been in the middle of transporting water from the water buckets in the square, to the Cellblock where the sick were. He had rounded a corner on a shortcut, only to find Daryl hunching down against the brick wall. He had originally went there to be alone – to try and sort through the thoughts that were swirling around like a hurricane in his head, and didn't expect to run into anyone there, least of all, Sam.
Daryl shook his head as he tiredly rubbed at his face with his hands. He hadn't slept well the previous night. He and Tessa had returned to the office after their shower and while the cot had certainly been big enough to accommodate them both, the news that she might be pregnant again, had kept him from getting any kind of worthwhile sleep.
"Ya good for now, believe it or not. I'm too exhausted to do much of anythin' right now, not-to-mention think!"
Sam nodded, relief echoing across his eyes but when he moved to turn around and go the long way, something kept him back. He turned an apprehensive but still curious gaze onto him. "Is . . . is somethin' wrong?" He asked and Daryl didn't deign to answer him for a moment but when he did, his voice was tight and slightly disbelieving.
"Tess might be pregnant again . . ."
"Well congrats, man!" Sam immediately answered and Daryl shook his head. He had yet to take his face out of his hands and Sam slowly set down the buckets of water he had been carrying and when he was done, moved to lean up against the nearby wall.
"Tha twins are eight months old – they'll be seventeen months when this baby is born – little over one-years-old," He shook his head. "I'm too old to be chasin' after another kid, Sam, I've told Tess tha' since tha beginnin'! Apparently, tha pregnancy test had been mistaken or she had taken it too early or somethin' but either way, she ended up havin' a miscarriage and she might be pregnant now!" He shook his head. "I dunno what to do . . . I've been tryin' to sort through all these damn thoughts tha've been swirlin' 'round in ma head since last night but . . . it only makes me even more exhausted!"
"Wait one Goddamn minute - are you shittin' me?"
Daryl turned an alarmed look up onto Sam then, who let out a sound of disbelief and looked away. He placed his hands on his hips and thought for a moment before shaking his head and turning his gaze onto Daryl again. "Do you know how hard it was for me back then? Do you know how difficult it was for me to live in your shadow – a shadow I could never hope to encompass – to try and walk in your humongous shoes that I could never hope to fill? And I realize that the twins are still very, very young, but do you know how ungrateful you look to me right now? Me and Tess tried so hard to have a baby of our own and yet . . . you sit here – the one man that could do what I could not – and complain because his wife is pregnant!" Sam shook his head and waved a dismissive hand in his direction. "Man, take it from me - just be glad you can have kids with her, Daryl! 'Cause, believe me - not just any man can!"
"What would ya have me do then?" Daryl demanded, his voice taking on a particularly rough edge that Sam was starting to become cautious around. However, at that moment, it didn't make him nearly as cautious. He believed Daryl when the man told him he wasn't in the mood to do anything and that alone made him linger and hear him out further. "Do ya know how hard our lives are now – how hard they're gonna become once this baby is born and we have three kids all under the age of five to look after and worry after?" He shook his head and gave a helpless shrug. "What tha fuck do I do?"
Sam gave a wordless shrug. "I . . . be there for her, I guess? You know this has gotta be hard on her too as a woman – Hell, she'd fall into a depression every time we'd go through a miscarriage ourselves! Maybe all she wants is to know that you'll be there for her."
Daryl sat there and thought for a moment before nodding. "Yeah . . . yeah, I'll do tha'." He shot him a slightly uncomfortable look. "Uh . . . thanks, man?"
Sam gave a snort of laughter as he bent down and picked up his buckets of water. "Yeah, this has been awkward for me too, Daryl. Glad I could be of help, though." Daryl nodded as he got to his feet.
"By tha way, don', uh . . . don' think this solves any of tha shit between us, though." He told him and Sam gave a laugh.
"Don't take this the wrong way, Daryl, but if one heart-to-heart between us had . . ." He shook his head. "Then I wouldn't nearly have the same respect for you that I already do."
