Daryl pulled out of me and moved over to his side of the bed. When we first went to bed and got started, I almost stopped him because I was feeling tired but I just went along with it anyway. Besides, I always have a good time with my man. I rolled over and smiled at him, then snuggled up closer. He put his arm around me and started playing with the ends of my hair. It feels so good when he does that, it's been a while since he has. Part of me felt a little guilty because of him starting to get sick, and I felt like I should be the one playing with him. Then, I remembered I was pregnant; carrying his child. So, I just relaxed and leaned into him more.

"That was fantastic." I said to Daryl. I rubbed on him where my hand was with my thumb. He was nice and warm. "And what you're doing right now feels amazing. I like that." I smiled.

"Yeah?" He said. "Good. I like to make my girl feel good." He stopped what he was doing for a moment, I felt him move a little and he planted a sweet, little kiss on my forehead. I smiled.

Just then, the kitten jumped up onto the bed. I looked down. "Aw, come here, Ponyboy baby." I called him. "You can sleep with muma and daddy." He walked up to where our heads were.

"Ugh." Daryl complained. "That lil thang better not be wakin' me up, meowin' and walkin' on me and shit." His voice seemed extra raspy, probably because of him getting sick. I wonder if he feels any different?

I laughed at what he said though. "Oh, Daryl, stop." I gently smacked his arm. "He'll be fine. He's a good boy." I petted under his chin causing his eyes to close. He was purring loudly.

"Whatever." Daryl said roughly. "I'm goin' to sleep." He rolled over the other way, facing away from me. I got more comfortable and laid the same way. Ponyboy was laying on my pillow but he was sort of between our heads. You could hear him purring loudly and occasionally, he would meow. I smiled because I knew it wouldn't be long until Daryl said something. I silently laughed with my hand over my mouth.

After about a minute, I heard Daryl make a noise. Here it comes. I smirked. "Mm." He said angrily. He sat up a little and glared in the cat's direction. "Get the hell outta here!" He yelled. Ponyboy took off. I felt bad for him, but I couldn't help but laugh. I giggled loudly. "All's I can hear is the damn thang purrin'." Daryl growled. "So annoyin'."

I was still laughing. "Oh, Daryl." I tapped his chin, then kissed the bridge of his nose. "Well, he's gone now, you scared him away. Cuz you're mean." I teased him, then giggled again.

"Yeah." He nodded, then laid down again. He was facing me this time on his side, I was laying on my back. I felt him snake his arm around me, he moved his hand down and kept it on my stomach. I smiled and placed my hand over his.

Daryl was always an early riser usually getting up about six in the morning. I am not a morning person. I prefer to stay in bed until at least eight and when I was just a teenager with a normal life before the turn, I would sometimes sleep in until noon. But I can't be that lazy now. So, eight it is. I still have to set an alarm for that time too. I use the one on my iPod. So, Daryl is always up before me. However, something strange happened this morning.

My alarm went off and I shut it off as usual, but when I sat up and stretched, I saw Daryl laying next to me. Still asleep, or so I thought. His hair was over his eyes, so I couldn't tell if they were open or not. I blinked a few times at him, then heard him sniffle then cough. I think I got the answer to my unasked question.

I moved his hair out of his face so I could feel his forehead. It was warm. I gave him an annoyed look. "You're sick, which means you lied to me." I crossed my arms in front of me.

"I didn't lie." Daryl said all stuffy sounding. "I just didn't feel like this yesterday." He coughed again.

I almost wanted to roll my eyes. I bet that was a lie too. I was about to say something else but stopped because I realized what he said. "So, you admit that you don't feel good then?"

Daryl turned his head into the pillow and coughed into it. "I didn't say that." He shook his head a little. "I'm fine. I gotta look after you and the baby." He put his hand on my back. I smiled and did roll my eyes this time. Even when I'm mad at him, I can't be mad at him. Typical Daryl, always putting others before himself.

"Well, I'm going to take care of you." I tapped his nose. "And I'm pretty good at it, if I can say that?" I put up my nose. "Whenever someone in my house got sick, I used to play nurse." I smiled remembering that. I probably took care of Carl the most, then my dad. My mom hardly ever got sick.

"Well, I don't need you playin' nurse with me." Daryl said trying to give me a serious look. It was actually kind of adorable. He's cute when he's sick. "You gotta take care 'a the baby. Don't worry about me." He turned his head just then to sneeze.

I wanted to tell him that he was being stupid, but I just decided to let it go. I shook my head. "Do you want some breakfast?"

"No." He answered quickly. "I'll wait a little til about noon and heat up some 'a that soup from yesterday." He coughed, then sniffled.

"Okay." I sighed. I pushed his hair back a few times. "Well, I wanted to go tell my dad and Michonne about the baby today." I paused. "You don't have to come if you don't want to." I shook my head. "In fact, you should just stay in bed and rest today. It'll be fine." I nodded.

He lifted his head a little to look at me. "Do ya want me to go?"

I just looked at him for a second. "It doesn't matter." I shrugged. I thought for a minute. He's not going to think about himself, he's only going to think about me. You know how he is. I thought to myself. I have to tell him no, otherwise, he'll come with me and he shouldn't. He should rest. "No." I then said. "You don't have to or need to. I can tell them myself. I want you to stay here." I nodded.

"Alright." Daryl said with his face in the pillow. I smiled.

"I shouldn't be too long." I got out of bed and made my way around to his side. "When I come back, I'll make you some soup." I kissed his forehead, then headed into the bathroom to take a shower.

"Here. I made you some hot tea." I said sweetly and sat the steaming cup on the end table. I was showered and fully dressed ready to go. I just didn't have my coat on yet. "It has honey in it, it might help soothe your throat." I ran my hand though his hair and rubbed his arm for a second. "When I come back, I want that gone." I said a little more sternly.

"Yes, ma'am." Daryl mumbled. He slowly rolled over and sat up a little, then reached for the tea. "Thank you." He said before taking a small sip.

"Be careful, it's hot." I warned him. I watched him drink a little, then he sat it back down and cleared his throat. There was a brief pause. I had a thought, just then, and picked up Daryl's clothes for him then sat them on the bed. "It's cold, you should put some clothes on." I looked at him. He just nodded. There was another pause. "Alright, well…I'm gonna go. I won't be long." I moved closer to him and hugged his head close to mine, then planted three kisses on his cheek. His kissed my arm. "I love you."

"Love you too." He said. I smiled and pushed his hair back, then turned to leave. Daryl stopped me when I was almost out the bedroom door. "Abby." I looked back. "Thank you, really." He looked a little more serious than he did before. I just smiled at him, then left.

I just walked right in to their house, the door was unlocked so why not? Plus, my dad did say that I was welcome there anytime. The three of them were eating breakfast, they all looked up when I walked in. "Hey." My dad said.

"Hey." I smiled. "Good morning, beautiful family." I said to be corny. They all kind of laughed. I sat down next to Michonne on the bench seat. "So, whatcha doin'?"

"Looks like we're eatin'." Judith said and gave me a stupid look. My dad and Michonne kind of laughed. I just smirked back at her. Maybe my attitude is rubbing off on her. That's a good thing. She can carry on my legacy. I let out a small laugh at that thought. They probably thought I just laughed at what Judith said.

"You want some coffee, honey?" My dad asked me.

"No, thanks. I can't." I waved him off. I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to drink coffee when you're pregnant, even though I already did because I didn't know I was pregnant at the time. "And I'm not staying long, I just wanted to tell you guys something." I bit my lip.

"Guess what, Abby?" Judith interrupted me acting excitedly. My eyes glazed over to her and my smile faded. Really? Kind of a bad time, kid! I was about to give the best news ever! I couldn't be mean to her though. I pretended to be interested.

"What's that?" I asked with an amused look even though I was actually a little annoyed. I should be an actress. I almost laughed.

"Daddy said once it gets warm out, he'll take me to the lake and teach me how to swim!" My sister said excitedly.

I just stared at her for a moment kind of waiting for her to say something else, but she didn't. That's it? That's her fantastic news? Kids. I wanted to roll my eyes. "Great." I said trying to be real about it. "Well if you guys need a lifeguard, you know where to find me." I said looking at my dad. He laughed. There was a brief pause after that. "So…remember the other day when you guys were teasing me and saying I was pregnant?" I pretended to be somewhat annoyed when I said it.

"Yeah." My dad said. Michonne didn't say anything but was looking at me and Judith was already off in her own little world. I hesitated. "…well, it's funny because…now I am pregnant." I let out a small laugh. They both gave me shocked looks.

"What?" My dad said with a smile.

"Is this for real?" Michonne said smiling as well. I looked at her. "Like you're not joking?" I was grinning widely and nodded. "Congratulations!" She hugged me. "I'm so happy for you! For both of you!" We let go of each other and screamed a little in excitement, then laughed.

"I told you so." Judith said bragging just like I knew she would. I was annoyed at her but still smiled anyway.

I glanced over at my dad because I wondered why he hasn't said anything yet. I couldn't read his expression. "Dad?" I titled my head a little when I looked at him. "Ya okay? I just said you're gonna be a grandpa." I smiled, then laughed.

"Yeah." He closed his eyes for a second and shook his head like he was being stupid or something. "Sorry, baby. I was just taking that all in." He let out a weird laugh. "I was just mentally burying Daryl's body." He laughed again. I gave him a look but still laughed. "That's great, baby. That's the best news ever. Really." He got up and we hugged. "I'm gonna be a pappy!" We all laughed. There was a brief pause. "Do you want some breakfast, sweetheart?"

"Yeah, have something to eat." Michonne said.

I hesitated remembering about Daryl. "Oh, I don't know. I mean…I was going to make something at home, but Daryl didn't want anything because he's sick with a cold or something." I made a disappointed face. "So, I'd feel guilty. And I told him I wouldn't stay long. I'm playing nurse now." I let out a small laugh.

"Oh, I remember when you used to do that with me." My dad gave me a look. "Now my baby is having a baby. Oh, you're all grown up now." He hugged me again. For a minute, I thought he was going to start crying. He pinched my cheek for a second after we let go of each other. I just looked at him and smiled and let out a small laugh. "You should really eat something though." He nodded. I hesitated and glanced at Michonne, she nodded as well.

"Okay." I shrugged and sat back down. What the hell. I put some eggs onto my plate and poured myself some orange juice. I stopped right then because I had a thought. "Hey, wait a minute." I said. "How come you guys didn't offer me any breakfast when I first walked in and sat down?" I gave them a suspicious look. They both laughed.

"That was before we knew you were carrying our grand baby." My dad said.

"Oh, I see." I crossed my arms. "So, you're just worried about him or her? You don't care about me. I can starve, right?"

"Pretty much." Michonne said with a shrug. There was a brief pause, then we all laughed.

I ate my breakfast, then my dad wanted to walk me home. I told him he didn't have to but he insisted. I guess I'm more delicate now or something. "So, you okay?" My dad asked me.

"Yeah." I shrugged. I wasn't about to tell him about my mystery pains and throwing up. He would just get super worried about me like he always does. "I've been craving peanut butter." I laughed.

My dad let out a small laugh. "Your mom used to too." He looked at me. I smiled. "You know, you look more and more like her everyday."

"Really? I always thought I looked more like you." I laughed. "I am the first born after all, that's usually what happens." I paused. "No offense, but I would rather look like mom."

My dad laughed. "Why? Something wrong with me?"

"No." I laughed. "Mom was just…beautiful." I smiled. He smiled back.

There was a brief pause. My dad looked up at the sky. "Yeah." He nodded. "She was."

I just looked at him for a moment. He was acting a little strange. I wondered what it was. "Judith looks like mom." I said just to be saying something.

"She does." Was all he said. He didn't seem sad or anything. I don't know how to explain it. We were pretty much quiet the rest of the way there.

We reached my house. "Thanks for walking me home, daddy." I hugged him. "I always love coming to see you."

He kissed the top of my head. "And I always love seeing you." He hugged me back tightly and held onto me a little longer. I didn't pull away or anything. "Mm. Come here." He said. "Here's one for you." He planted a kiss on my forehead. "And here's one for my grand baby." He kissed my forehead again.

I smiled. "Thanks, daddy."

"I love you."

"Love you, too." I started to get a little emotional for some reason. My dad and I are super close and I just don't see him as much as I used to. I mean…I went from being around him 24/7 to only seeing him like maybe once a week. And I know I can go see him everyday, but I feel like that would be weird. I don't know why? Maybe because I'm married now and I enjoy spending most of my time with Daryl. He will always be my number one. However, my dad used to be that number one. So, it made me a little sad, I guess.

"Take care of yourself and…"

"My little peanut." I put my hand on my stomach and looked down. When I looked back up, my dad was looking at me. "That's what I've been calling he or she." I smiled.

My dad nodded. "Try to give me a grandson, we have too many girls in this family."

"Oh, shut up." I pushed his arm.

He laughed. "I'm just joking. I'll love them no matter what." We smiled at each other.

"I know." There was a brief pause. "Well, I better get inside to Daryl. I said I wouldn't be gone long and it's been pretty long." I let out a laugh.

"Okay." My dad said. We hugged one more time, then he left and I went inside.

I turned around to close the door and saw Daryl sitting at the table. I gave him a look. He should be in bed. "Daryl Dixon, what are you doing out of bed?"

He shrugged. "I'on like layin' around all day." He said with his raspy, stuffy sounding voice. "I'm fine."

"No, you're not." I narrowed my eyes at him. It makes me mad how he can't just admit that he's not fine. And that he can't just relax for once. "You need to go lay down and rest."

"I'on want to." He said sounding like a little boy. It was kind of cute, and I wanted to laugh. I was about to say something but he spoke first. "I'm hungry. I want that soup now."

I did laugh this time. "Were you sitting there the whole time waiting for me to come home?" I smirked.

"Nah. I was gonna do it myself." He turned his head. "But then I heard you come in." I realized his hair looked wet.

I gave him a weird look. "Did you take a shower?" I asked him. He looked at me. "Your hair looks wet?" I pointed.

He coughed and swallowed hard. "I thought maybe the steam would unstuff me." He sniffed.

"Did it work?"

"No." He said, then coughed again. He sounded awful. Part of me wanted to laugh because of the way he said that but a bigger part of me felt bad.

I walked over to him and pushed his hair back, feeling his forehead in the process. "You feel warmer than you did earlier. I might run up to the shop later and get you something for your fever. Maybe there will even be something for your cough." I nodded.

"Nah. I'on want you doin' nothin' ya don't have to fer me." He shook his head and sniffed.

I gave him an annoyed look. "Okay, Daryl, cool it with the tough guy act." I crossed my arms in front of me. "You're not fooling anyone. And I don't mind taking care of you. I want you to feel better." I thought for a minute. "Don't you try to take care of me when I'm sick or hurt?" He didn't say anything, just looked at me. "Well, I feel the same way about you." I put my hand under his chin. "So, you're gonna let me, it'll make things easier." I nodded. "And whether you do or not, I'm still going to." I smirked. He just looked at me the same way. "So, how about that soup now?" I said sweetly. He eventually just nodded. I gave him a sweet little kiss on his forehead.

I got out the pot of soup and sat it on the stove to heat. That should take a while. That's okay, though, it's still pretty early. By the time it's done, it will be like lunch time. I might even have some myself. I feel like my appetite is changing. Usually, I'm never really hungry, but today I have been. And I practically just ate. I almost laughed.

I turned to Daryl, just then, because I had a thought. "Will you still love me when I get fat?" I said. I was worried about gaining weight and then having to worry about getting back in shape once the baby is born.

"What?" He gave me a weird look.

"I'm gonna get fat." I said with wider eyes. "Months from now but still." I shook my head. "Are you gonna be grossed out by me?"

"Abby." Daryl gave me a stupid look. "I would love you no matter what. Quit bein' stupid." He coughed. "And anyway, how big could yer little ass even get?" He scoffed.

I huffed. "Well, I learned in Child Development that typically a woman gains fifteen to twenty-five pounds when she's pregnant. That doesn't seem like a lot, but I guarantee you can notice a difference."

"Good. Ya need to gain weight." He smirked. I just kind of glared at him.

Turning around, I gave the soup a good stir. Then, turned back to Daryl still giving him the same look but a little softer. "This should be ready in about ten minutes." I told him. He nodded and stood up, then got the bowls down from the top shelf where we keep the bigger bowls. I was thankful because it makes it easier on me. "And when you're done, I want you back in bed and I mean it." I said sternly.

He looked down at me with a smirk on his face. He must find this amusing. "Thank I'm gonna listen to a lil thang like you?" He teased me.

I crossed my arms over my chest and just looked at him for a moment. "You better listen to me or…you'll be making a very big mistake, Daryl Dixon."

"Oh yeah? And what's that?" He raised an eyebrow and still smirked.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "You realize that I can deny you sex, right?" He seemed to become a little more serious after I said that. I was glad. "That's right. You will never touch my lady parts again."

Daryl seemed to hesitate, almost like he was thinking about something. Then, he put his head down. "I'll eat and then go back to bed."

I smirked. "That's what I thought." I let out a small laugh. I doubt that that would really happen though. We would both get grumpy and not even want to talk to each other. In fact, I might be worse than he would be. Of course I can't let him know that though.

He slowly lifted his head and had a hint of a smile. "Ya know, yer cute when yer mad." He moved closer to me.

"Yeah, and you're cute when you're sick." I smiled. "So, once again, we're prefect for each other. I reached up and kissed his cheek. We couldn't kiss each other on the mouth because I could get sick from him. I will miss Daryl's lips on mine for a while. He kissed my forehead, though, making me smile.

I got into bed with Daryl after we ate. I thought I would sit with him for a while. I wanted to make my man feel better. It sucks to be sick. I was rubbing his arm. "So, what happened when you told them?" Daryl asked me.

"They were happy." I shrugged. "I actually think Michonne was more happy than my dad, which is weird." I shook my head. "He kind of looked like he was going to cry." I laughed. "He walked me home and was being extra…I don't know the right word. Like he kept saying that I was grown up now or something like that. I don't know." I shrugged. "But yeah, they were happy." I smiled.

"That's good." Daryl mumbled. "I'm surprised he didn't come over here with a shotgun and try to kill me."

I let out a nervous laugh remembering what he said at the table. He was mentally burying Daryl's body? I wonder how much of that was true? I hope none of it and he was just joking. I decided not to tell Daryl that part.

Just then, I heard Daryl cough, it sounded pretty bad. What was even worse was the sound that came when he inhaled. "I don't like the sound of that." I told him. "What if you're sicker than we think?" There was a brief pause. "If you're not any better in a few days, then you're going to see the doctor."

"No, I ain't."

"Yes, you are."

"I ain't goin' to see no damn doctor." He snapped causing himself to cough.

"Do not raise your voice at me." I said seriously. "And you WILL see the doctor if you're not better." He started to say something, but I cut him off. "You told me to stop being stupid earlier when I was talking about getting fat, well you stop being stupid now." I scolded him. "You're not invincible, Daryl. Everybody gets sick and everybody needs help once in a while. So, get off your high horse." I narrowed my eyes a little. He gave me a surprised look. I sighed. I don't want him to think I'm mad at him. "Listen," I said softer, "I love you, Daryl. I just want you to be okay." I rubbed his back again. "And we're gonna have baby soon. I need you to be okay." I paused. "Don't you want to be a part of your son's or daughter's life?"

"Of course I do."

I gave him a serious look. "Well, then you gotta start worrying about yourself and not just us." Another pause. "It's not just about surviving anymore." I shook my head. "It's about living."

Daryl just stared at me for a moment. "Yer gonna be a good mom." He finally said. I was a little surprised at what he just said. "Ya know how I know?" I just looked at him. "Cuz ya refer to the baby like they're already here." He nodded.

I smiled at him. "And you're gonna be a good dad." I grabbed his face. He didn't say anything to that. I know he doesn't believe it, but he will be. We will be. Together. I smiled at him, then there was a slight pause. "Come here." I said. "Lay your head on me." I pulled him closer. He readjusted himself and did what I said.

His head was on my chest. It was so sweet. He kind of reminded me of a sick puppy. I played with his hair and occasionally rubbed is back or arm or even rubbed his face with my thumb. I could tell he liked it. I knew he couldn't resist. I remember my mom telling me once that it doesn't matter how tough a man seems, they love to be babied. It doesn't matter, they are all the same. There isn't even an exception for Daryl Dixon.

I stayed there like that even when he fell asleep.