AN: Leave a comment if you want this to be a multi-chapter! I will only do so if I gain enough comments. C: also, leave me your prompts in the ask box! I will take prompts from detailed to words to quotes- whatever your heart desires. I will post periodically in the Caryl tag.

I was wanting some baby Caryl feels, so if you don't like the idea of it, you can skip this one! Kind of cutesy and short so forgive me!

When he had been an outcast, he had panic attacks at first. He was used to passing through towns, passing through faces, but he wasn't used to the big crowd. When the apocalypse first started, their band was fairly big and he wasn't used to it. She noticed. She knew. She helped him, even though he didn't want her to touch him. She would stay at a distance, stepping him through it, repeating over and over until he finally got the message, "Just breathe."

By the time they were with the crowd at the prison, he was no longer anxious. His throat didn't close up, his heart no longer palpitated, and he slowly grew used to the bustle and the compliments.

Now, years ahead, she was practically crushing his hand. He gritted his teeth but not as much as her- although due to Ed's careless nature, she had given a natural birth before. She would do it again in the apocalypse and she told herself she would be fine or give Daryl this motherfucking baby. She bit back her screams the best she could, even shoved a blanket in her mouth to muffle it. Maggie was helping it along with teaching from her father she could remember, while Daryl had fetched hot water and towels before obediently settling at his mate's side.

She didn't even yell or scream at him for making her have the kid... Not that he really made her. It had just happened. They had accepted it with a good part fear and another part anticipation. Luckily for her, the baby wasn't giving them any issues. "Just breathe," Daryl repeated over and over like a mantra, "Just breathe. Love ya, just breathe."

After what seemed like utterly and ultimately ages, the baby was finally born and Maggie made sure the bleeding settled enough for her to clean everything up and help Daryl with scissors to cut the cord. His hands shook and he was incredibly nervous but at the same time happier than he had ever been. Was this what being a parent felt like? He held the little, tiny baby and cleaned it up, sniffling a little and allowing Maggie to check the baby boy over before finally bundling it up in some warmer clothes. When he looked over, Carol was already passed out, pale but her breathing strong and steady.

For a long time, Daryl just stood there and swung the little baby in his arms, humming soft lullabies until it fell asleep, kissing the top of its head. There was an old crib set up by the bed and he lay the baby boy there, tucking him into some blankets. It was very late in the evening now and he had been hunting earlier, but been dragged away shortly after when Carl came running to tell him to come back. He walked over to the mattress and crawled in beside her, pressing up to her to keep her warm, closing his eyes.

It had never felt better to breathe.