Anna sat at the desk, tapping her pencil against the page along to the ticking of the clock. It was as though she'd been sitting at the desk for years now, trying to finish the book. There was just so much left to say.
"Anna!"
With a heavy sigh, Anna pushed up from her chair and headed out of the office, following her mother's voice.
"It's time to eat!" Her father said.
"I'm coming," Anna called back.
She walked through the house until she was standing at the back door, staring out over the porch where everyone was gathered around the table, which was piled with food. As she made her way through the crowd, each person patted her shoulder.
"Congratulations," Maggie said, a baby on her hip.
"Finally," Glenn said.
"It's about damn time," Abraham agreed from beside Sasha.
"We're all so happy for you two," Evan grinned, and Anderson nodded.
On it went until Anna was standing beside Daryl at the head of the table.
"Let's eat!" Jessie cheered, pulling out Rosita's chair for her as everyone took a seat.
Anna set her hands in her lap as everyone began to eat, making no move to do so herself as she looked around at her family and friends talking and laughing. Glenn bounced his baby in his lap, making the infant giggle. He looked just like Glenn.
She glanced at Daryl as he told some dry joke she couldn't help but laugh at.
Her cheeks started hurting from the smile spread across her face. She looked down to her hands, where she had begun to fiddle with her mother's engagement ring on her left finger.
Daryl reached over and took her hand, and she looked back up at him. He smiled at her.
"I love you," Anna said.
"I love you, too," Daryl chuckled.
Anna flinched awake, blinking as she stared into the dark. She rolled onto her back and felt her left ring-finger. It was vacant. It was just a dream.
"You good?" Daryl asked, his voice groggy—barely awake.
"Yeah," Anna muttered.
"Was it another nightmare?"
"No," Anna said slowly. "It was a pretty good dream, actually."
He hummed in response, his hand slipping into hers.
"Hey, Daryl?" She called softly.
"Hm?" Was his barely audible response.
"I love you."
"Love you, too," he muttered before he began to snore softly.
Anna smiled, turned onto her side so that she faced him, and then squeezed his hand. With no other indication that he had woken up again, Daryl squeezed her hand back.