"It's a girl!" Dr. Cohen said happily. "And she's got red hair!"

"What?" I laughed. Daryl and I shared a quick look. "Gimme my baby." I said excitedly. The doctor let me hold her while he was fixing me up. He was right, she does have red hair. "Oh my God." I gasped. "She's gorgeous." I smiled at Daryl who was leaning over up by me, he smiled as well.

"And she seems to be very healthy too." Dr. Cohen said. "Congratulations, you two." He smiled.

I was so happy in that moment. She was the prettiest little baby I have ever seen. And she's mine. Ours. I smiled at my husband again and we kissed each other briefly. "I'm gonna go get your dad and everyone." He said. I nodded not taking my eyes away from my baby girl. I didn't even look away while the doctor was cleaning her up.

Daryl came back shortly after with my dad, Michonne and all the kids. "Hey." My dad smiled at me. "You okay?"

"I'm better than okay." I reciprocated. "Look at this little angel." I just couldn't take me eyes off of her.

My dad came closer and looked at her. "Wow, look at that red hair." He smiled. "Can I hold her?" My smile faded for a second, then I handed her to him. My dad smiled down at her. "Hi, sweetheart." He spoke softly. "She's prefect." He said looking around at everyone, then kissed her head.

"Yeah, I know. And I really like her already so each one of you has about two minutes and then I want her back." I said with a laugh. They all laughed as well. That's funny. They think I'm joking. I wanted her all to myself.

"Hey, I didn't even get to hold 'er yet and it's my baby." Daryl said. Everyone laughed again.

"It feels weird referring to her as "she" and "her." Have you thought of any names yet?" Michonne said.

"A few." I sighed. "But I don't think any of them fit her now." I looked at my beautiful daughter in Michonne's arms. "We'll think of something." I didn't take my eyes away from her the whole time.

Everybody got their time with her and stuck around for a while, then they left and wanted to get the kids home. My dad and Michonne had the twins for the night, which I was thankful for. I was supposed to stay in the infirmary for about three days in recovery, but I feel like it won't be that long.

"She is really is beautiful, you know?" Daryl said. "What are we gonna name 'er?"

"I don't know." I answered while looking a my precious little gift.

Daryl let out a small laugh causing me to look at him. "How 'bout Rose? It matches her hair." He snorted.

"I love her hair." I said in defense of our baby. "And it's not even red like that." I looked back down at her and smiled. "It's more like orange. Reminds me of Amber."

Daryl was quiet for a minute. "…Chucky. Like that ugly doll."

I gave him a look. "That's not even funny. She's beautiful." I kissed her little forehead. "But Charlie would be a cute name." I smiled.

"Charlie?" Daryl snorted. "Ain't that a boy's name?"

"No." I said still looking at her. The more I looked at her, the more I hated the name. "But…I don't like that name anymore."

"Well, what about what ya said earlier? About her hair lookin' like Amber? Amber would be nice."

I smiled. "Yeah, it would. But…that doesn't fit her either. She needs something different. Something that sets her apart form everyone else. Something that says how beautiful she is." I smiled at her. "She's a perfect little gem."

Daryl was quiet for a moment. "…that's what we should call her then. Gem."

I looked at him and thought about what he said. I liked it but it still didn't sound right. Almost like it needed something. "Gemma." I just said. It just came out of my mouth. I like that. "We should call her Gemma."

"Gemma?" My man questioned, he looked like he was thinking about it. "Yeah." He nodded. "Yeah, I like that. I like it a lot." We smiled at each other, then kissed each other.

A few days later, I was laying with my baby in my bed. I was still recovering. I stared down at her. I was under her spell the moment I laid eyes on her. She was just…prefect. A perfect little gem. Her eyes were two different colors. One emerald, one sapphire. Her lips were naturally red like a ruby and her hair was like amber. She really was a little gem. The most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my life. She might just be the thing that saves me.

I found myself unable to put her down. I always held her, even was I was doing something. Cooking, cleaning, doing my hair, helping the twins. I never put her down, not even when my husband scolded me for always holding her.

Part of me felt guilty. I didn't bond with the twins like how I did with Gemma. I love them to death, don't get me wrong, but for some reason I just felt…closer to Gemma. It was a love like no other.

She slept in the bed with us for weeks before I put her in her own room. I just didn't want to be that far away from her. She woke me up very early the one morning because she was crying. Daryl was already up. I sat and held her close to me trying to calm her. It wasn't working. "What's wrong, my perfect little gem?" I held her close and had a thought. "I bet you're hungry." I smiled. I opened my shirt and she latched on. I smiled at down at her.

Just then, Daryl walked into the room. "Hey, I just wanted to let ya know that I'm goin'…" He trailed off, so I looked up at him. He was staring at us. "Huntin'." He finished. I just smiled at him and nodded. I heard him clear his throat. "I thought ya didn't wanna breastfeed? You didn't with the twins."

"Well, I hear it's better for her." Was all I said. I realized that I said for "her" and not "them." I didn't care though.

"Alright, well…I'll see ya later then." Daryl said.

"Yeah, be careful." I said without looking up. I just looked at my precious little gem. I heard my husband's footsteps walk away. Now it was just her and I.

"What should we do today, sweet pea?" I spoke softy. "You're here to stay forever now. We can play and when you're a little older you can play with your older siblings. You have a twin brother and sister, you know?" I smiled at her and played with her fingers. It's so precious how babies wrap their little hands around your finger. Like they just do it. "You have a lot of people that love you and will keep you safe, baby girl. You're the safest baby in the world." I kissed her. "I won't let anything happen to you. I promise." I held her close to my face.

I didn't do anything that day, I spent all my time with my precious little gem. She slept right on my chest. If I moved at all or touched her, she would coo. It was the cutest sound in the world. It made me anxious to hear what her voice sounded like. "You have me wrapped around your finger, don't you?" I gently tickled her little belly, she just looked up at me with her big beautiful eyes. "I just cannot get over how gorgeous you are." I smiled.

Just then, I heard the twins come in. Home from school already?" I thought. I glanced at the clock, it was the appropriate time. Oh yeah, I guess so. I picked up Gemma and we went out of the room.

"Hi, mommy!" Dallas said to me.

"Hi, sweet boy." I ruffled his hair.

"Look what I made, mommy!" LB exclaimed. She showed me a picture of a butterfly she painted. I smiled at it.

"Wow, you made this?" I said.

"My teacher helped." She admitted.

I laughed a little. "That's a beautiful butterfly." I told her. "Just like you." I pinched her cheek, she smiled. "I'll put this right up on the fridge." I walked over and put it up with magnets. I stood there and rocked Gemma.

"Mommy, what happened?" Dallas said. I turned to him, he looked concerned. "The house is dirty."

"What do you mean it's dirty?" I said to him.

"There's dirty dishes everywhere." He said. "And how come you didn't make dinner? You always have it almost done when we get home."

I just looked at him for a moment. Part of me felt annoyed, which me made feel guilty. "Well, I was taking care of your sister all day." I finally said. "Babies are a lot of work and they need extra attention, especially newborns." I stared down at my precious little gem, who was falling asleep, and had a thought. "I'm going to need you guys to help me out here, with a new baby and everything." I had another thought. I didn't have to start doing chores until I was like twelve, but…that made me more self sufficient. If they start younger, maybe they will be more self sufficient and it will help prepare them for what's outside the walls. "Actually, that's a great idea. You're both old enough that you can start helping out around here. I think I will set up a chore chart." I nodded.

"No!" Dallas, to my surprise, was the one to complain. "I don't wanna do no chores! It's bad enough I gotta go to school and then come home and do homework." He cried. "I don't wanna do nothin' else!"

I was completely unfazed by his crying. "I don't wanna hear it." I gave him a stern look, then looked at LB too. "From either of you. I may be a mom but that doesn't mean I have to pick up after you all the time. You're both capable of doing things yourself now." I paused and cleared my throat glancing at Gemma, she was asleep. "From now on, you both will clean up your toys when you're done with them. And starting tomorrow…LB is on dish duty and laundry. Anytime you see dishes laying around whether I forgot to do them or not, I want you to wash them. And I'll help you with laundry and show you what to do. It's not hard." I looked at Dallas. "And, you little man, are going to sweep the floors." I nodded.

"No! I don't wanna—

"Mom's right." LB cut her brother off. "We should start helping out more." I gave her a shocked look. That was another surprise. I smiled at her. I always knew she was the more mature one.

"Thank you, Lori-Beth. I appreciate it." I said seriously to her. She smiled back at me.

"NO!" Dallas screamed walking up Gemma. She immediately started to cry.

"Dallas." I scolded him. "You woke the baby now."

"I don't care about the stupid baby!" He yelled.

Something snapped in me right then. "Dallas Carl Dixon." I gave him a very serious look. "That's it. You're going to the corner." I grabbed him by the arm and walked him over there. He cried and jumped up and down. It's been a while since I had to give either of my kids a timeout. I honestly thought that they were outgrowing it. "Six minutes." I told him, then walked away.

I took Gemma into my room and tried soothing her. "It's okay, baby." Finally she calmed down and went back to sleep. I put her in her crib. "That's it. Go back to sleep, my precious little gem." I gently rubbed her little cheek with my finger.

I looked up, just then, and saw LB standing in the doorway. I sighed. "Thank you for sticking with me, honey." I said once I got closer to her.

She nodded, then seemed hesitant. "…um…I don't mind helping, mommy, but…It's just…how come I have two jobs and Dallas only has one?"

I had feeling she would ask that. I got down to her level. "I gave you what I knew you could handle." I nodded. "You're smarter than your brother." She smiled after I said that. "Just…don't tell him I told you that." I let out a small laugh and ran my hand through her hair. "Come on, get started on your homework." We walked out of the room.

Once we were back in the living room, I let Dallas out of timeout. "Dallas, come over here, please." He slowly walked over to me wiping away his old tears and sniffled. I gave him a look. "You owe me an apology, little man." I poked at his tummy.

"Sorry, mommy." He sobbed.

"That's more like it." I pulled him in for a hug and kissed his head. "That's my sweet boy. And you do care about your baby sister, right?" He just nodded. "That's what I thought. You're gonna have to look after her one day, you know?" I nodded at him. He just gave me a weird look. "No more temper tantrums or tears, got it?" I asked him more seriously. He nodded, then looked at the floor. "You're a big boy now, right?"

He slowly lifted his head and looked at me. "Make dinner." Is what he said.

I stared at him for a moment trying to give him a disapproving look. "Alright, go get started on your homework." I patted his butt as he walked away. I had to laugh though.

Daryl walked in later that night after we finished eating. The kids ran to him and hugged him.

"Daddy!" LB said.

"Hi, sweetheart." He picked her up and kissed her. I noticed he walked in with nothing. Just like last time.

"You missed dinner. Again." I said roughly.

He gave me a look before answering. "Sorry." Was all he said.

I was annoyed. He's out all day, misses dinner, doesn't bring anything back from hunting and all he has to say is "sorry?" That doesn't cut it. We are a family of five now. Plus, two pets. "I'm going to take a shower." I said closing my book. "Get the kids to bed." Then walked out of the room.

"Yes, ma'am." I heard Daryl say.

When I was done with my shower, I walked into our room and saw Daryl with Gemma. I eyed him suspiciously. He was acting strange, kind of like how I was before the baby was born. He gave her three kisses on her forehead. "Did you really go hunting today?" I asked him.

He looked up at me, his smile fading. "What?"

"I noticed you didn't catch anything just like yesterday." I shrugged. "It's kind of odd, don't you think?"

He stared at me, then put Gemma in her crib. "Well, animals are gettin' more scarce." He shrugged. "They're harder to find."

"No, yeah, I understand that." I said and nodded while brushing my hair. "But it always seemed like you came back with at least something. Am I wrong?" He didn't have anything to say to that. "So, are you really going hunting?"

He put his hands out. "What the hell you thank I'm doin'? Huh?" He said roughly.

I hesitated. "…are you having an affair?"

Daryl snorted and let out a small laugh looking at me. He stopped when I saw that I was serious. "You serious right now?"

"I'm dead serious." I answered immediately.

He let out a small laugh and laid back on the bed. "Good lord."

"I'm serious." I hissed and walked closer to him. "You go out every single day. Everyday!" I snapped. "You're never here anymore. And when you are, you're not." I stared at him. "So, tell me, Daryl, are you cheating on me?"

"No, I ain't cheatin' on ya!" He yelled and stood up. "Ya gotta be outta yer damn mind to thank I would!"

"Do not raise your voice at me, Daryl Dixon." I said sternly. "We have a sleeping baby right there and two kids right down the hall."

"Don't use your mom voice on me, little girl." He said roughly but more quietly. "I'm your husband not your son. Or at least I thank I'm yer husband."

I squinted my eyes at him. "You're my husband if you want to be. Because lately you haven't been anything. You're an absentee father and an absentee husband. And…I smell alcohol on your breath. You've been drinking." I stated. "Is that what you do? Go out and get drunk?"

"Cuz I ain't happy!" He snapped. I stopped and just looked at him. "I ain't." He said quieter. He sat down on the bed, I just stared at him. Things quieted down after that. "I ain't been fer a long time." He finally spoke again. "I miss you. What we had before…" He trailed off and looked up at me. I began to calm down and be more sympathetic towards him because I remember feeling that way too. But then Gemma was born and I felt…better. "I love them." Daryl continued. "I do. But I love my wife more and we never get to spend any time together no more."

I looked at him and walked over and sat time to him. My hand automatically started rubbing his back. "Well…we're together right now."

"There's a baby right there." He pointed out.

My feelings changed a little when he brought Gemma into this. "Yeah, that's right and she's not going anywhere." I shook that thought. I don't want to get mad again. "Daryl, how long has this been going on?"

He seemed to hesitate. "…almost as soon as you told me you was pregnant again." He paused. "I didn't want no more kids. We didn't have time fer ourselves before with just the twins and now we got another one."

My eyes widened and it felt like I was punched in the stomach. I can't believe he's saying this. Gemma is our baby! Our baby girl. If anything she saved us, not pulled us apart. It hurt me inside to hear him say that. "Daryl." My lip quivered. "I love her. She's the greatest gift you've given me." I cried. "Those are our children you're talking about." The tears were spilling now. "I can't believe you." I sobbed.

"No, Abby. That's not what I meant." Daryl shook his head and pulled me to him. "I love them, I love our kids. And I would never want to change things. But I do miss ya. I miss ya lots." He kissed my temple. "And I gotta great idea." I turned to him slowly calming down and giving him my full attention. He cleared his throat before speaking. "Let's go away fer away. Just you and me. Yer dad and Michonne can watch the kids. We'll tell 'em we're goin' on a run fer a fews days. That way we can spend some time, sort things out. Yeah?" He nodded.

I stared at him. Is he an idiot? "Daryl? I can't leave Gemma." I shook my head. "She's just a baby, she needs me."

"She'll be fine. They can—

"No." I said immediately not letting Daryl even finish his sentence.

We just stared at each other. "So…yer choosin' the baby over me?" He said roughly.

Okay. I think I got my answer: he is an idiot. "Of course I am. A defenseless little baby?" I paused just looking at him. "You're the one that's out of your mind." I shook my head in disgust.

Daryl looked like he was thinking for a moment. "Okay." He finally said. "Okay. So, what about when Gemma is a little older? Could we do this then?"

I thought about what he just asked. That could work. And…I didn't exactly want to keep arguing with him. I hate arguing. We might as well compromise. "Yeah." I finally said. "Sure."

Daryl leaned over and kissed me. It felt real nice and I began to relax. We pulled apart and just stared at each other. It's been a while since we had sex. I think we both were thinking the same thing. He kissed me again, it was longer than the first one.

We started taking our clothes off while still kissing. Daryl moved his lips away from mine and kissed down my neck causing me to breathe out. I needed this. It's been so long that I was already ready to go, I didn't need anymore "warming up." I breathed out heavily and my heart raced. "I'm ready." I said all breathy. "Do it, please."

Daryl readjusted himself a little, then slammed into me. He got started immediately and didn't waste any time. My arms were around his neck, I felt his hair and began running my fingers all through it. I loved my man's hair.

I was moaning like crazy, it was feeling so good. I could almost cry. It was like all of our problems just disappeared and it was just us again. No one else existed. It was like when we were just dating. I thought about those times. I missed this. I could tell I was real close now. Daryl and I are perfect for each other. We just— The thought was completely halted as I felt him cum inside of me. My eyes shot open and I let myself drop down so I could see his face. We just stared at each other for a moment.

I was just so surprised because that hasn't happened in so long. "You-you just…I didn't—

"Sorry." He looked a little embarrassed. I didn't hide my disappointment. I really wanted—needed that orgasm. It was not my night. I didn't kiss him on the cheek like I usually do when we are done having sex. "Look, let's just do it again. I'll make sure yer satisfied this time." He looked at me seriously.

Just then, Gemma started to cry. I glanced towards her, then back at Daryl. "No." I said and tried to get up.

He stopped me. "Just gimme a few minutes."

"No, just forget it." I pushed him off of me so I could get up and get the baby. "Hey, it's okay. Mommy's here." I picked her up and held her close trying to calm her down. "Shh." I turned around and faced Daryl while rocking her. He was looking right at us. I couldn't read his expression though. He almost looked sad. That scared me.