Hey guys! I got an awesome response to chapter 12 and 13 so that made me really excited! I was glad to see y'all were relieved that she was okay and that Daryl let her have it because that was my response as well, haha! Thanks for all the views, reviews, favorites, and follows because it really means a lot! Thanks again and as always, happy reading!
Chapter 14: A Great Place to Start
Daryl woke up the next morning with Brooke's head resting in between his neck and his collarbone. Her small bump distanced them a little bit but at least he could still hold her. The puffiness from under her eyes had gone down her and cheeks weren't as red as they used to be. She was truly glowing and Daryl held her a little tighter but not too tight. One hand was on the bump and the other was at the small of her back. He sighed and accidentally inhaled her scent. He smirked to himself that she was there again. The fluttering from her belly happened again and he smiled.
"Yep, you're a Dixon alright." He said. "Just promise not to hurt Momma." He knew he would be able to forgive Brooke, it would be hard not to forgive her. He loved Brooke and he made it very clear last night that she is not doing something like that ever again. This time, they were never leaving each other. She would never hurt him like that again and he would never do the same to her. He quietly slipped from her and walked downstairs. He found some coffee in the pantry and put it in the coffee maker along with some water. He laid down on the couch thinking of how they were going to work this out. He loved her but he was pissed at her. He was mad at her but wanted to forgive her at the same time. He couldn't forgive her, not yet anyways. He knew that the fact that he hadn't would drive Brooke crazy but it's what she needed. She needed to further know how much this hurt him. He closed his eyes and accidentally went back to sleep. He woke up maybe thirty minutes later with a blanket draped over him and a cup of coffee on the table in front of him. It was still steaming and he looked over to see Brooke reading Little Women in the opposite chair. She was still in his shirt but had put some PJ pants on. She sat like she always did when she was reading in a chair with her feet draped over the arm and her back resting against a pillow on the opposite arm. She propped the book on top of her bump, which made him smirk to himself. He stretched and reached for the coffee cup. She remembered that he drank his coffee black.
"Morning." She greeted looking at him.
"Morning." He replied taking a sip from the mug.
"It's pretty good, you know how I like it strong." She said.
"Is coffee okay for the baby?" Daryl asked.
"I can only have one cup a day." She replied. "Otherwise I'll get sick."
"Any morning sickness?" he asked.
"Not any more, just when something makes me sick. I found out I can't eat strawberries." She pouted and he chuckled. "So the town meeting's at ten this morning so we better get ready soon. This one's going to last a little while." Daryl grunted and stood up. She smirked sadly and continued to read her book. She looked up as he was walking up the stairs and sighed. She wondered what would've happened if she hadn't gone to Woodbury. Would they have lived? Would they have died? Would they have stayed at the prison or gone back to the farm? She shook her head. There was nothing she could do about it now. The damage was done and she wondered if Daryl would ever forgive her. Would they end up like a happily divorced couple and just be friends for their baby or would they be able to work it out? She wanted it to work out but she didn't know how to make that happen. Did she just have to wait or did she have to take action? She pursed her lips and closed her book after she finished a chapter. She walked upstairs to go and shower. She passed Daryl, who had wet hair, on the way and squeezed his arm. She walked into the bathroom and closed the door.
Daryl watched as she walked into their bathroom. He looked back down at the arm she had squeezed and took a deep breath. He knew she wasn't trying to suck up to him; it was just something she did. If she was trying to suck up to him she would've made him breakfast or something like that. He walked out to check out the rest of the house and when he came back she was pulling on a large, light blue v-neck. She brushed out her hair that had dried. She turned and jumped when she saw Daryl standing there.
"Oh God, you scared me." She breathed.
"Sorry." He replied.
"It's okay, where did I put my vitamins?" she asked and he grabbed them from a drawer. "Thank you."
"Your welcome." He said. "Come on, we better go before the room fills up." She nodded and walked with him downstairs. The center of town wasn't too far and it was a nice day so they decided to walk. She never made an attempt to grab his hand. She just looked forward and carried on. Daryl wanted at least some things to be normal again so he reached over and grabbed her hand. He interlaced their fingers and he saw her slowly close her eyes out of the corner of his eye. They arrived and they took a seat next to Becky, Merle, and Meghan. "So, Brooke told me." Daryl whispered to his brother. They talked so that they could only hear each other while Becky and Brooke where talking.
"Yep, she's mine." He replied as Meghan was asleep in his lap. "Kinda can't believe the way I treated her when she was younger. Kinda wish I was there you know?"
"Who are you and what've you done with Merle?" Daryl asked and Merle laughed.
"I mean it man." He said. "I ain't becomin' Dad. So how did things go last night?"
"Told her like it is." Daryl replied.
"Like we always do." Merle said and Daryl smirked. "How did she take it?"
"She cried, told me she was sorry, told me she was never leaving me again." He said. "I've never seen her cry so much in her life."
"Do you believe her?" Merle asked.
"Oh yeah." He said.
"Just to let you know, this ain't been easy for her either." Merle confessed. "I would walk into her office and her cheeks would be red or her nose would be runny. She's told me she wished she hadn't done it before but she knew it was the best thing she could do for the group." Daryl nodded slowly. "Just don't let her go, okay?"
"I'm not goin' too." He said. "Why are you bein' a big brother all of a sudden?"
"You two are good for each other, I've always thought that but you know. It was supposed to be you and me against the world. Didn't really want her in our lives before Meemaw. I actually started warmin' up to her when I figured out when she tried to help us out, member that?"
"Yeah, I remember." Daryl grunted.
"She cares about you, about all of us." Merle said. "That's somethin' we ain't never had before." They paused for a minute as Meghan tossed a little. Merle picked her up so that her head was lying on his chest. "Does she know that you're not goin' to?"
"I think she's worried that I won't be able to forgive her." Daryl said. "She hasn't tried anythin', she knows how pissed I am about it. I told her it's just goin' to take me a while but I can't just stay mad at her, especially now."
"She's got you trapped little brother." The brothers chuckled a little and the meeting started. The town decided to hold elections of who was going to be the governor. Of course now the governor would have overseers and Brooke had convinced Daryl to become one. It didn't take a whole lot of convincing since he wanted to become one. They also decided for people to pick their jobs. Brooke and Herschel would be the doctors, and Herschel would also be a veterinarian. Beth and Maggie would be nurses. Merle and Daryl could help out at the butcher shop, hunt, and also make some furniture if they'd liked. Rick, Glenn, and T-Dog would help with keeping the town safe, and the rest went on. Others from the town decided on their jobs and it all surprisingly worked out. They kept the system of trade and assigned number of things each month since, again, they couldn't create a currency. Everyone would be pulling their weight in town and no one complained. Anything was better than the dictatorship and this was a great place to start.