Epilogue
Beth laughed to herself as Ella flew through the air, squealing as she hit the ground with a thud.
"Mama! You see that!? Did you see my jump?" Ella dusted her hands off on her jeans and turned back to the swing set, the chains still in motion and squeaking with each pass.
"Yes, El. That was great! You were flying!"
"Where's daddy? I want him to see! He can push me higher!"
Beth smiled, glancing back to the house. "He's with Shawn I think. They'll be out soon I'm sure."
As if on cue, Daryl emerged from the house's back door, a small blue bundle balanced delicately in his arms.
"Daddy!" Ella screamed as she flew across the small field separating the playground and their backyard. She kicked up grass and wildflowers in her wake as her feet struggled to propel her as quickly as she wanted to move.
"Hey, kid." Daryl knelt down, leaning to kiss the top of Ella's head before holding the baby out to his sister.
"Hi, baby Shawn." Ella cooed, her voice quivering as she tried to keep it quiet, despite her overwhelming excitement.
Beth walked over, holding out her arms for her son, whom she hadn't even seen since the previous night.
"Where'd you go last night?" She asked as Daryl placed the sleepy infant in her arms, wrapped snuggly in his light cotton blanket. "You never came back to bed?"
"He was fussin about in their room." Daryl explained, pulling Ella up as she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. "Probably just too warm to be comfortable. So I took 'im outside for a while. Then to the downstairs bedroom to let you two sleep."
Since the day Shawn was born, nearly two months ago, Daryl had been the most hands-on father she had ever seen. He liked to claim his participation was to make up for not being there with Ella, for Beth needing to do so much on her own, but Beth suspected that was just an excuse. The way Daryl looked at his son, the overwhelming pride in his eyes, she knew he just couldn't stand to be apart from the tiny boy.
"Maggie and Glenn got out at a good time. This one's a screamer." Daryl said, nodding his head toward Shawn before turning to Ella, "Bet you never gave your mom such a hard time."
"No, never." Ella replied seriously, shaking her head before burying her face into Daryl's shoulder.
Maggie and Glenn had moved out just over four months ago. After the elderly head of the safe zone's farm passed away, Maggie and Glenn were the most logical pair to take his spot. Though willingly separating from her sister for the first time in years was difficult for Beth, she couldn't help but appreciate the new start it signified for her family.
"Now, what trouble were you getting into out here?" Daryl asked, a smirk spreading across his lips as Ella's eyes rose to meet his.
"None! I was jumpin off the swing like you taught me yesterday! I went sooooo high!" Ella's eyes widened as she bounced in Daryl's arms, gripping his grey tee-shirt for balance.
"Wait!?" Beth interjected, trying to keep her voice quiet so not to excite the baby, "you taught her to jump off the swing!?" Beth tried to look mad but the joy in her heart made it difficult to maintain a stern face.
Even though Daryl had been back for well over a year (17 months the next week), she still woke up thankful every day that he was back with her. Every time she saw him reading to Ella at night, or burping Shawn after breakfast in the morning, she was reminded that she easily could have missed out on these little moments. She was finally getting the experiences she wouldn't let herself imagine when Ella was little and even experiencing ones she couldn't have imagined if she tried. Every day she appreciated the morning routine of Daryl stealing a last kiss as they heard Ella moving down the hallway to their room. She looked forward to the evening ritual of telling an "outside the fence" story, often manipulated to be child-friendly and include important survival skills. She was grateful for the Friday night dinners where all of their friends came over for some venison steak and whatever dessert Beth could pull together.
Of course, she knew life might not stay this way. One day they might need to run and their definition of life would change, once again, drastically. But, for now, this was their normal. And it was perfect.
A/N- I hope you enjoyed reading, please let me know what you thought! As of right now, I am unsure if I will be starting a new chaptered fic. If so, it will likely be an extension of mourning hope (A one-shot that can be found on my page).
