Sorry for the delay! Hope you all had a great new year. This chapter took me a bit because I was struggling with transitioning out of the love scene and into moving the story along. Let me know what you think!

Oh also Happy Birthday Norman Reedus!

Chapter 22

-Lexi-

the euphoria she felt during her encounter with Daryl faded quickly as they finished and reality began to sink in. He clearly had no idea what to say to her, and so he settled on nothing, putting her down lightly and then awkwardly turning to get dressed as if she wasn't there. She was about to get annoyed, but then she remembered that his brothers corpse lay not 100 yards away, and decided that a lesson on post-coital etiquette would be poorly timed.

She was still hurt by his abrupt shift, and as she began to pull her clothes on she held in the tears that were beginning to form in her eyes out of sheer stubbornness. she hadn't felt this low since Shane had laid into her after the winter formal incident, and even then she'd had rage to temper distract her from the shame.

Desperate to get some space from Daryl she headed out of the office as soon as she was dressed and began to walk up the hill towards the prison. It had been sunset when she first met up with Daryl, and she as she made her way into the prison she could tell most people had simply gone to sleep. They kept the cell block door locked at night so she waited peering through the bars as Glenn went to fetch the keys.

It felt like she'd been with the group forever, even though it had only been two days, and she found herself feeling strange as she peered into the cell block she'd never been in. She had gone for Caitlyn to help Merle earlier, but she had only run up to the locked gate and called for her, unwilling to waste time admiring the safe haven.

Despite its harsh appearance, the prison was nothing short of ideal for their group. Lexi realized with a pang of guilt she didn't fully know all the members of "their group." With Laurie gone there was only Rick and Carl and now Caitlyn for the Grimes'. She hoped Rick would be able to accept Caitie's baby when the time came. He had always wanted more kids, while Laurie felt he barely got enough time with Carl as it was, and she desperately hoped that would carry through whatever jaded exterior he'd crafted for himself since Laurie's death.

Then there was Hershel's group, which she knew included Glenn and Maggie and a younger sister... Ann? Or Beth? She hadn't seen much of her yet but she knew she was blond. She'd passed an older woman she knew was named Carol when she was walking up, who seemed particularly standoffish, and then there was also Tyrese, the strong middle-aged black man who'd helped her hold down Merle's leg during Caitlyn's attempted surgery.

She was pretty sure there were others too, but those were the only ones she could remember. She made a mental note to get to know everyone tomorrow, realizing angrily that the only reason she'd not taken closer notice of their numbers was because she'd allowed herself to be distracted by drama with Rick and Daryl. She'd even left Caitlyn with them! Vowing to herself that she'd be more observant tomorrow, she made her way into an unoccupied cell, sprawled out on the cot, and fell fast asleep.

A few hours later Lexi awoke with a start. 'What the hell is that?' She thought startled by the echoing cries that reverberated around the cell block. 'Am I finally cracking? Is the stress of Caitlyn's pregnancy making me dream about screaming babies?'

She pushed herself up off the cot, shaking the sleep out of her eyes, and made her way cautiously out of her cell. The crying persisted and as she made her way past occupied rooms she heard the sounds of people stirring

"I can't live like this, honestly I can't. We need to sound proof these walls or something..."

"Hush Maggie, it's already less frequent than when she was born. Try to sleep."

'Who was born? Who had a baby?' Lexi's confusion grew as she made her way closer to the sound. Was it possible she'd missed a woman? No one she'd met so far looked like they'd been through labor recently enough for so young a cry. And why hadn't anyone mentioned it when they heard about Caitlyn's pregnancy?

She froze as Carl emerged from a cell door ten yards away, holding a baby in one arm and a bottle in the other.

"Hey Judith... It's ok... Hush now." he said, bringing the bottle to her lips and rocking back and forth soothingly, clearly not seeing her.

She approached him slowly so as not to startle him while he was holding the baby. She was young, not more than two months old, with a mop of black hair. They'd clearly put an effort into finding things for her, and she was dressed in a little pink onesie and wrapped in a soft warm blanket. Her tiny hands came up to steady the bottle as she drank, and as Lexi drew closer she saw that her flushed tear streaked cheeks were beginning to return to their normal color.

"Who you got there buddy?" she said lightly to Carl. His eyes flashed up momentarily frightened and uncharacteristically cold, but upon realizing it was her he relaxed. She peered at the young boy she'd gotten to know so well a year and a half before. Dark circles had formed under his beautiful blue eyes, and his once rounded cheeks looked gaunt and more angular in the moonlight.

"This is Judith. She's my baby sister," he said flush I slightly at being caught unawares.

Even though she had expected it, his answer still made Lexi's brow furrow in confusion. Rick and Lori would have had to conceive immediately after the troubles began. Something about it just didn't sit right in her mind, but she ignored it and stepped closer to peer down at the child. She was beautiful but dark, much darker than Carl had been, if her memory served. She tried to think back to baby pictures she'd seen of Lori, but her memory failed her.

Judith began to fuss again and exhausted Carl began to rock back and forth again, bouncing her softly and speaking to her in hushed tones.

"Where's your dad kiddo?" Lexi asked but regretted it immediately at the look that crossed Carl's face. Embarrassed he looked down.

"Taking watch. He knows I'm good with her so mostly I just take care of her. He's really busy." His awkward explanation told her all she needed to know. Carl was like Rick in so many ways, and one of them was understating a problem. For whatever reason, Rick was not involved in caring for this baby.

Angry and embarrassed for her former idol, Lexi reached out a hand to stroke the baby's cheek, momentarily quieting her. She grabbed Lexi's pointer finger with her little fist and clung on, cooing softly.

"I can't sleep anyway, you want me to rock her for a while?" She offered, smiling down at the baby in spite of herself.

"I guess that would be ok," he said handing the baby over with a relieved look on his face, "come and get me if you get tired, and if she falls asleep the crib is in my cell. Thanks Lex."

-Daryl-

He'd spent the rest of the night avoiding Lexi because he honestly didn't know what to say. He'd never been with a woman who seemed so interested in him, and he truly didn't know how to respond. He'd had 'just sex' plenty of times, but there was no 'just sex' with a woman like Lexi.

He hid out in the guard tower keeping watch until Rick caught him dozing and sent him back to the cell block to get some rest. He had hardly slept in two days, and the emotional exhaustion of losing his brother coupled with the unavoidable physical exhaustion of his escapade with Lexi finally overcame him.

He stumbled back to the cell block, almost delirious with exhaustion, but still hoping in the back of his mind that he didn't run into her. It was four in the morning, he reasoned with himself, so honestly she should be sleeping.

"Stars shining up above me..."

The sound of her voice floating softly down the halls confirmed his worries. She was awake. Still his exhaustion drove him forward, too powerful to allow his bashfulness to govern his actions.

"You lean in, and whisper you love me..."

He could she her now rocking back and forth in the moonlight, holding a bundle that must've been Judith. the sight of her sent singing softly to the child sent ripples of unwanted emotion through him. Unable to stop himself he stood transfixed watching her.

"You've got me going out of my head..."

'I want this' he realized, through his exhaustion, his mind too dulled to throw up the usual barriers against desire. 'I want her.'

"Dream a little dream of me."

She finished and turned, her green eyes locking on him in surprise as she saw him in the doorway.

"Hey." he heard himself say, shocking them both.

Yep, this was definitely something more dangerous than 'just sex.'