Sorry for the long wait - finals are killer and Dead Week is a fuckin' lie. Just saying lol
This chapter does skip around a lot but blame it on the episode its based off of! However, I did have a little bit more leeway for comic-relief in this chapter, which, in my opinion, this story dearly needs. I also stole more scenes from Beth - go figure LOL. I also got to flesh out one of the love triangles a little bit more than I already have the other one, so hopefully that went well too.
kat hatake90: I agree and that's what I try to keep very upfront in this fic. If this actually happened, childbirth would be a very real fear and I've been trying to depict that through Tessa and Daryl. Because, think about it - Daryl had to go through the same thing before with the twins, the only difference is, that they wanted the twins. They were willing to risk those odds, because they wanted the baby(ies). This baby, was completely uncalled for and - for the sake of argument - unwanted. Now, Daryl has to face Tessa risking her life for a baby they don't want. Might be cruel, but its also partly true. If you were in Daryl's shoes, how would you act?
HaloHunter89: Like I said, very real fear they are going through and this all leads up to a very explosive . . . chapter later that - God forbid - you guys see coming. Like always, I can't say anything because I don't want to give it away, but all the feels are for something, I promise! ;)
DarylDixon'sLover: Keep reading :)
The four of them didn't know how it had come to this. They couldn't remember just how they had gotten themselves into such a situation. As they stood there in the thick gray fog, backs to a small circle they had constructed together, they couldn't help but feel that familiar pulse of fear in their chests.
Their chests heaved as they heard the sounds of walkers move through the fog and when Sam felt Maggie reach down and take his hand – their fingers entwining together seconds later – not even that small movement was able to take his mind away from the fact that they were so completely and irrevocably fucked at that moment.
When the walkers started lumbering out at them, snarling and shuffling, was when they started to lose themselves. Bob and Sasha were separated almost immediately, whereas Sam and Maggie refused to lose their grip on the other person. Taking down walkers with just a weapon in one hand, they seemed to be doing alright.
Until they weren't.
"Bob!" Sasha yelled out and it was that one word that distracted Sam enough to realize that he was suddenly standing there without Maggie's hand in his. Dealing with walkers coming at him from all sides, the fear started thumping through his heart with greater velocity as he constantly whirled around looking for Maggie.
"Maggie!" He roared, but if she called to him, he couldn't hear her over the din and squall of the walkers. "Fuck!" He muttered under his breath, his heart now hurting from the force of its thumps. He stabbed a walker through the head with a knife before whirling around again. Maybe she was behind him – maybe she had caught back up with him -!
There! There she was! He had found her and . . .
His heart sank. He roared her name as he took off full tilt towards her lying on the black asphalt, struggling with the walker that was snarling above her. Grunting, she lifted him up as much as she could when Sam finally reached her. Teeth gritting in anger and fear, he yanked the walker off of her and slammed him to the ground, where he then began stabbing his knife into its head – over and over and over again.
It took him Maggie pulling him off of the walker, for him to realize that if she hadn't done that, then he wouldn't have stopped.
He had come close to losing her . . . the thought terrified him.
"Sam – Sam, I'm alright!" Maggie gasped out as her arms wrapped around his chest so that she could drag him off of the walker. His weight caused her to land on her ass and she let out an 'oof' but still managed to scoot backwards, dragging him away as she did so. He allowed her to, eyes wide and pinned on the walker and his chest heaving with exertion. He had almost lost her . . . why did the thought terrify him so much?
But one thing he did know was that he could have stayed there with her arms around him, all day. He could have died right then and there and have died a happy man.
Oh, he was so fucked!
"Are you – are you okay?" He asked when he finally got ahold of senses. He pulled himself free of her arms and spun around on his heels so that he could face her. He curled his hands around her arms and held her level with him. She nodded frantically. Her eyes were wide with fear as well, but fear of a different kind. No matter how many months she lived in this world – no matter how many times she had been grabbed by them, she would never stop being afraid of them – of what they could really do if you weren't paying attention.
Thank God Sam had been there to watch her back!
"Yeah . . . yeah, I'm fine . . ." She eventually gasped out before swallowing hard. "It didn't . . . it didn't bite or scratch me. I'm fine."
Sam nodded at her words, relief evident in his eyes. "Oh thank God . . . I thought I had almost lost you, Mags!" He spoke and Maggie's eyes softened.
"Sam, I -!"
"Oh Jesus, Bob!"
Sasha tearful voice interrupted them, and immediately, Sam and Maggie turned alarmed looks onto the two other people in their group – the two other people they had temporarily forgotten about. Sasha was kneeling on the ground, tears in her eyes, as Bob stood above her, eyes wide and gazing at something on his arm.
A bite.
"It's okay – it's okay!" Bob laughed, a delirious note to his voice as Sam and Maggie got to their feet and joined them. "He got me on the bandage!" Sasha let out a thankful laugh as she got to her feet and threw her arms around him. She backed away as he began saying 'ow' over and over again, but grinned as his eyes crossed with hers. "I didn't say stop . . . I just said ow." He spoke and the four of them laughed as Sasha threw her arms around him again. They stood there and hugged for a moment as Sam reached out and wrapped his arm around Maggie's waist. He pulled her into him and hugged her to him for a moment and when she immediately froze, he chuckled.
"I almost lost you, Maggie. Just let me hug you for a minute, okay?" He told her and Maggie relaxed. She gave a weary nod and eventually, her hands fisted in his shirt as she closed her eyes and allowed him to hold her as tight as he wanted to. It felt good to lean on someone sometimes – it felt good to know that you were important to someone. And even if it was Sam instead of Glenn, Maggie knew she wasn't about to complain.
"Almost there . . ."
"How do you know?"
"Well, ya tell us. Tha signs are all there, jus' gotta know how to read them. So what are they . . .?" Daryl asked and Wren bit down on her bottom lip as she cautiously stepped forward a little bit. Daryl and Ethan both followed her, careful to stay silent so that she could figure this out on her own. She wasn't going to learn anything if they kept handing them to her.
"What are we tracking?" She asked as she hefted the crossbow up higher, where one eyes squinted close some so that she could better see down the sight. Ethan and Daryl glanced at each other.
"Ya tell us, baby . . ." Ethan spoke and immediately, Wren shot them both a look over her shoulder. When she had first agreed to Daryl and Ethan offering to teach her how to track and hunt, she had jumped at the chance, ignoring Tessa's grin and amused shaking of her head. She thought it would have been easy. Boy was she wrong!
Daryl gave a shrug. "Ya tha' one who agreed for us to teach ya!" He added and while Wren had to glumly agree, she wasn't about to let them know!
Ethan nodded in agreement as she began to survey the ground at their feet. Long dark brown hair tied into a braid and slung over one of her shoulders, she was positively dwarfed by one of Daryl's jackets but to Ethan, she had never looked cuter. That, and he had been positively stunned into speechlessness when Daryl shoved his crossbow into her hands and told her that it was about time that she learned how to use it – "In case me or Ethan ain' 'round and for some fucked up reason, I ain' got her with me!" Daryl told her in way of explanation. And really, if he was being honest, Wren seemed natural with it.
"Well, something came through here . . ." She began and Daryl nodded. "The pattern is all zig-zaggy . . ." She trailed off, thinking, before breaking out into a grin. "It's a walker, ain't it?" She asked as she turned her gaze onto the two Dixons. Daryl gave another shrug.
"Maybe it's a drunk . . ." He suggested, rather dryly, and Ethan shot him a grin as Wren turned her eyes back down onto the trail before them. Daryl glanced in the direction behind them and Ethan immediately noticed. He knew his deddy hated being so far away from Tessa, Beth and the twins, but in all honesty, they didn't mean to be so far away in the first place. It wouldn't matter, though – Daryl would be telling them to wrap up and head back any minute now.
"I'm getting good at this!" Wren quipped with a self-satisfied smirk as he hefted the crossbow up again, and Daryl chuckled as he took a step forward.
"Don' get too cocky, Little Bird. Ya still gotta lot to learn." He told her and Ethan nodded in agreement.
"Yeah well, pretty soon I won't need you guys at all!" She continued with a teasing wink, and Ethan shook his head as he moved up to join his father.
"She's ya student." He told him and Daryl scoffed as he glanced at him.
"My student? Hell, she's ya girlfriend!"
They came up on the walker a few minutes later, and Wren sent a questioning look Daryl's way. He silently nodded and motioned her forward. She steadied the crossbow in her hands and moved forward, Daryl and Ethan hot on her heels and ever alert to more walkers in the surrounding treeline. She inched carefully forward, making sure to not step on anything to alert herself to the walker's presence . . .
She let out a surprised sound when she felt something close around the heel of her boot and drag her down to the ground. The walker immediately turned around and when Wren turned her eyes onto the bear trap sunk into her boot, she also saw Daryl and Ethan immediately come pounding after her. Ethan skidded to a stop and dropped down to her foot while Daryl grabbed the crossbow from her and slung the butt at the walker's head. He caught it squarely in the temple and brought it down to the ground, where he gave it another bludgeoning hit for good measure.
"She okay?" Daryl gasped out as he quickly moved over to them, and Ethan nodded as he pulled the pin out of the trap and opened it, freeing her leg. Daryl's hand immediately latched onto her leg, where he began checking it for wounds.
"Yeah, she just . . ." He trailed off and swallowed hard, taking a moment to desperately still the fear that had run like acid through his veins. "It just got her in the heel . . ." Daryl nodded.
"Lucky thing ya are, Wren. We could have majorly had ourselves a shitstorm on our hands just then!"
"I'm sorry!" Wren quickly spoke up, and Daryl shook his head.
"Don' be – could have happened to anyone. Jus' makes ya realize ya gotta watch everythin', don' ya?" He asked, and Wren nodded as he wrapped his hand around her heel. "Can ya move it?" She nodded and swallowed heavily as she began moving her foot in circles.
"Yeah . . . yeah I think . . ." She told them, and he nodded, clear relief echoing in Ethan's eyes as they all got to their feet. Ethan took her hand and helped her to hers. He glanced at his deddy as they did so.
"I think that's a little bit too much excitement for one day, don' ya think?" He asked, and Daryl nodded in agreement.
"Totally. Now let's head back to camp. We need to check on ya momma and the twins anyway . . ."
"Are you ready?"
Sasha nodded as she slammed a clip into her pistol. "We should wait until the fog clears." She spoke, and Sam nodded in agreement as he remained crouched down beside Bob. He tightly tied off some fresh bandages wrapped around Bob's arm and he thanked him with a smile as they got to their feet.
"We don't want to get caught like last time." Sam added, and it was their turn to nod in agreement as Maggie looked down at the ground.
"But we've been waiting a while -"
"You see all this?" Sasha interrupted her and Sam immediately ghosted a hand across Maggie's lower back when she tensed at the interruption. "We got lucky. We need visibility!"
"She's right, Mags," Sam agreed in a tone low and soothing. "We continue on in this weather and we either end up getting lost or run into another group like we did earlier. It's not safe."
"That and we got only six bullets left . . ."
"She's right. The both of them are." Bob hastily added. "We've done good following the plan – no need to get sloppy now."
Maggie stayed silent then as she reached into her back pocket and withdrew something. She gazed at it for a moment and Sam shook his head as Sasha's eyes widened slightly in alarm. "Maggie, please -!"
"What is it?" Sasha asked, interrupting Sam mid-sentence, and Maggie shook her head, keeping Sam from speaking. Maggie tossed the compass to Sasha and she caught it, releasing a frustration sound when she saw what it was.
"It's broken." Maggie stated simply as she moved to squat down on her haunches, and Sam moved to gingerly rub the back of his neck. It must have broken when she landed on her ass while trying to pull Sam off of the walker. She didn't actually say that, but nevertheless . . . she knew Sam knew it too.
"We don't need it." Bob spoke up and the three of them turned incredulous looks onto him. "Sun comes up in the east and sets in the west. We'll keep an eye on it in-between."
"We're not Daryl, though." Sam spoke up, his voice tense. "We can't tell the time of day by the sun's positioning in the sky!"
"Sam, calm down . . ." Maggie's gentle hand on his, did cause him to calm down slightly, but he still remained tensed as Bob gave him a patient look.
"We'll be fine!" He promised them firmly, but it didn't stop them from all sharing a grave look, nevertheless. They continued to sit there in silence for a moment and when Sam felt Maggie's fingers curl around his again, he allowed them too. This time, they weren't in danger, so he did notice, and this time, he gave them a comforting squeeze. It was a comforting squeeze that she was quick to return.
"Ya do know, Tess, tha' if we didn' have this life - if our life had turned out to be tha normal, happy family life tha' we'd always dreamed about when we were kids, then I'd be puttin' a lot more than four babies in ya belly." He told her seriously, and Tessa shot him a grin. They moved through the forest ahead of the rest, Ethan and Wren allowing Wren to lean on them in-between them as they walked, and she shook her head.
"You're still such a charmer, Dixon!" She quipped and he let out a laugh as he shifted Aayla to get a better grip on her.
"I'm being completely serious right now!" He replied, and Tessa gave him an arched brow of amusement as she shifted Danny to the other hip.
"Really, now – is that correct?" She asked, and Daryl nodded confidently.
"Yup. We'd have to have ya doctor on fuckin' speed dial -!"
Daryl's voice curbed off into a laugh as a path of hot blush immediately speared across Tessa's face and as she slapped him hard on the chest. He continued to laugh as he looped an arm around her waist and brought her closer to him – Danny and all. "Well, in our defense, we would have been a lot younger then and would have been able to chase after more than four kids." She quipped and Daryl gave a shrug.
"Yeah . . . but I guess there goes tha' dream out tha window, huh."
"Oh shut up!" Tessa grinned. "We got our big family, Daryl. Whether we realize it or not, we got the big family we always wanted together -"
"Hey, can we . . . can we hold up for a sec?" Wren called up to them when they finally stepped out of the forest and onto a gravel road that winded around a cemetery. The both of them stopped and turned around, Tessa's eyebrows furrowing in concern.
"You okay, sweetie?" She asked, and Wren nodded as Beth stepped away from her so that she could bend down slightly to rub at her ankle through her boot, Ethan shifting slightly to take her weight.
"Yeah, I'm okay, I just . . . I think I need to sit down for a minute, okay?" They nodded and Ethan stood there for a minute before heaving a sigh.
"One minute . . ." He slid his knife into the sheath at his belt before handing Beth his gun. He then popped his neck before squatting down before her slightly. Tessa and Daryl's eyebrows both threatened to disappear into their hairline, as did Wren's. "Come on – hop on."
"Are you serious?" Wren couldn't help but ask, and Ethan nodded as he glanced at her over his shoulder.
"Uh, yeah! After all, isn' this what boyfriend do? Give their girlfriends piggy-back rides?" He asked and Daryl let out a snort.
"I don' 'bout ya, Ethan, but me and ya momma skipped out on that fine boyfriend/girlfriend tradition!" He quipped and Tessa rolled her eyes.
"You never asked!" She replied and Daryl rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to speak, but Ethan shaking his head, was what interrupted him.
"Just come on and jump on, Wren!" He spoke and Wren shrugged before grasping his shoulders and jumping on, her legs moving to wrap themselves around his waist. Daryl's eyebrows lifted a little bit more.
"Oh nevermind, we have done that! There's just another name for – OW!"
Tessa, cheeks burning with blush, wasted no time in slapping the shit out of his arm. He scowled down at her but his eyes were mirthful as he protectively splayed a hand out on Aayla's back. "Tess, calm down, would ya? I'm holdin' our daughter for tha love of God!" Tessa rolled her eyes.
"Like that stopped you from making that comment!" She snapped and he grinned as they turned around and began making their way deeper into the field of marble headstones stretched out before them. Ethan let out a grunt and hefted her up higher before he took off after them.
"Damn, baby, ya weigh more than I thought ya would!" He grunted and Wren laughed as she pressed a kiss to the spot behind his ear.
"Like you haven't ever picked me up before, Ethan!" She muttered and for a moment, Ethan hoped that his momma and deddy couldn't see the blush that bloomed across his cheeks at her words.
"Maybe there are people there . . ." Beth spoke up, referring to the big white house sitting on top of a hill overlooking the cemetery, and Daryl silently nodded as he handed Aayla off to her before readying his crossbow.
"If there are . . . I'll handle them." He spoke, and Tessa gave him a look.
"There are some good people left, Daryl." She told him gently, and Daryl glanced at her, his eyes lingering on Danny and Aayla a little bit more than her.
"I don' think tha good ones survive, Tess."
"Hey Mags, come take a look at this . . ."
Maggie turned to Sam at his words, and her eyes immediately fell onto the cardboard sign posted to the metal beam of a signpost. Bob and Sasha hastened to join them. "Sanctuary for all; community for all; those who arrive survive . . ." Sam read aloud, and they all shared a lingering, hesitant look with each other. Below it was a map detailing where they could be found and they all knew Maggie's eyes were running themselves ragged over it.
"Terminus . . ." Bob murmured, as if allowing the name to get used to being on his tongue, and he shared a look with Sam. No one noticed the hand he slid around to grip Maggie's hip and she didn't move away. She instead stepped closer to him. He knew she meant it as a source of strength – a source of strength she was quickly running out of the longer they went without finding anyone else – and she knew he did it for a completely other reason. However, at that moment, not one of them cared.
Although if Maggie was being completely honest with herself, she figured she better admit that pretty soon, Sam wasn't going to be just a source of strength for her. "On the run to the veterinary college, we heard something about this on the radio, remember?" Bob continued, and Sam nodded.
"Yeah . . . came in pretty fuzzy, but I remember."
"They were broadcasting?" Maggie asked, eyebrows furrowing in interest as she turned her eyes onto Sam and Bob, and they nodded.
"What did it say?" Sasha added, and Sam and Bob both shrugged.
"Like Sam said, it was pretty fuzzy, so we couldn't make it out. The only reason I know about it is because I'm seeing it now," Bob spoke as he stepped forward and reached out a hand to touch the cardboard sign. "'Those who arrive survive . . .'" He glanced at them all and Sam's hand tightened around Maggie's hip a little bit more. He didn't like this . . . he didn't like this at all –
"We should go," Maggie spoke with a confident nod and Sam and Sasha immediately shook their heads.
"I thought we were looking for Glenn." Sasha spoke up, and Maggie turned her eyes onto her.
"If he saw one of these, he would be going looking for me looking for him. Look at all these tracks leading from different places but all ending up at the same place . . .!" She told her, her voice terse, and Sam again shook his head.
"Maggie, we don't know these people! This could be a trap, a-a-a way to lure in unsuspecting people weak from constantly breaking spirits! This could very dangerous!" He spoke and Maggie turned a hard look onto him.
"All the more reason to go then, huh? What if this place is dangerous and we run up on Glenn there, huh? What if he needs our help?"
"It's far, Maggie! And what if there are no other signs?" Sasha asked, and Maggie rolled her eyes in frustration.
"Do you all think this is the only one?"
"This is the best lead we've had so far." Bob quietly added, and Maggie sent him a thankful one while Sam pursed his lips and Sasha adopted a weak, defeated one. "It says 'sanctuary' which is another reason we should try. And others from the prison could be there too – Tyrese -"
Sasha shook her head, interrupting him. "It sounds too good to be true. If Glenn saw one of these, maybe . . . maybe he felt the same way!"
"Yeah, but he wouldn't! He'd believe – I know!"
"Look, what do you want to do, Sasha?" Bob asked, and Sasha let out a defeated sound as she turned her gaze elsewhere for a moment. "Do you want us to keep making these circles away from the bus, or do you want to talk about us doing something else? We're not splitting up – that can't happen. But do you want to take a vote, or something?" He asked, and Sasha shook her head.
"What would be the point? You've already aligned yourself with Maggie and Sam . . . Sam would go simply because he refuses to be parted from her." She sighed in defeat, and Maggie shot her a grateful smile, knowing her mind had been made. She instead turned a look onto them as she began making her way north, past the signs for Terminus, and Bob took off after her. Maggie was going to as well, but Sam's hand curling around her wrist, kept her. She turned around to face him, eyebrows furrowing in confusion.
"Look, you know I'll follow you wherever you want to go, but . . . Maggie, I can't help but feel like we are walking into something that will be so over our heads!" He told her, and Maggie swallowed hard before nodding.
"I know. And I feel it too. But I can't ignore this, Sam. I have to go and I have to see if Glenn is there – if he's okay!"
"And what if he isn't?" Sam asked before giving a shrug. "Maggie, this place is so far away! What if he's not there – what are you going to do then?" Maggie gazed at him for a moment before giving another hard swallow.
"I don't know, Sam. That's why I need you. If he's not there, I don't want to break down in front of everyone. If your with me, I won't break down."
He knew that was something that Tessa would have said so long ago. He knew those words should have given him all the strength in the word he needed to put the separation between them that they so desperately needed, but he didn't. God help him, he was the epitome of a glutton for punishment.
He nodded and gave her a comforting smile as he took her hand. "Okay . . . okay, you've got me." He told her and she gave him a thankful smile before she stepped quickly forward. She then stood up on her tiptoes and pressed a brief kiss to his lips, one that he wished he could have returned.
