Chapter 2

Early morning, December 24, 2013

Sherry had been invited to stay in the room during the delivery and assist Ashlyn. As she walked inside the already busy room, she saw Doctor Harlan Carson greet her with a quick smile but then went back to concentrating on his work before it officially began. Terri, Yolanda, and Christy were all in one corner as they prepared the area where the baby was going to be cleaned up afterwards.

Ashlyn was sitting on an actual hospital bed which was slightly lifted up for her to lean back comfortably. She had a wash cloth on her forehead as her eyes clinched shut with her mouth in a tight line. Already Sherry could tell that she was in terrible pain. Carson glanced up to see Sherry take her place at Ashlyn's other side while he held one of Ashlyn's hands as it sat on top of his leg. Sherry saw the vise grip that Ashlyn had on his palm but he didn't react to it. By comparison, she was in a whole lot more discomfort than he was.

"How is she?" Sherry whispered. There were several monitors that Harlan attached to Ashlyn to see where she was in regards to contractions. Sherry saw one monitor as a line began climbing to indicate that she was experiencing a fierce amount of pressure. Sherry looked to Ashlyn and saw that she was forcing herself to relax at all cost. If Sherry was in her shoes, she would be screaming up to high heaven by then.

"Tired," Carson responded as he also sounded like he could be defined in the same description. "Seventeen and a half hours of this shit…"

Sherry groaned upon hearing how long Ashlyn had been in her stage and knew that her suffering only increased since that morning. She didn't have any medicine to ease her agony. Sherry reached for Ashlyn's other hand in comfort as Ashlyn gladly accepted the gesture and gripped it tightly. Sherry winced ever so slightly but didn't let go. That was what she was there for.

The contraction subsided as Ashlyn took a deep breath and opened her eyes. She noticed Sherry sitting beside her and gave an exhausted smile. "I'm starting to wonder if I made the right choice," Ashlyn breathed an apparent feebleness.

Sherry put a hand to Ashlyn's shoulder and gave a warm grin in response. "I'm here for you," Sherry offered. "You're almost done."

"I hope so," Ashlyn answered quietly. Carson removed the wash cloth from her forehead. Sherry then stroked her fingers against the side of Ashlyn's face with obvious tenderness and adoration for the woman. They each had previously expressed their love for each other multiple times. It was within their actions that solidified the statement. Negan's wives all experienced the same humiliation at being forced by his side. It was in those rough few years that they relied on one another for comfort. Even if that part of their life was over, their loyalty remained an ever-present fixture in their relationship.

A tear fell down Ashlyn's face as she looked up to Sherry with appreciation. "I have something important that I want to tell you," she began to say but was interrupted by another contraction. She gripped Sherry's hand tightly once more but tried to relax her body to ease the pain in some small way.

"Good timing," Harlan said as he made the final preparation before things began. "Next contraction we are ready for you to start pushing."

Carson and Harlan both exchanged a look between brothers as Harlan nodded that everything was going to be okay. Carson silently acknowledged his brother's small affirmation but still appeared worried for his girlfriend; the person that he chose to be his life companion.

"When her contraction is through, I am going to put her legs on the stirrups and sit her up more to see if that's a good position for her to push," Harlan explained then glanced to both his younger brother and Sherry. "I need you both to hold her knees towards her chest once she is finished breathing through this one."

Ashlyn relaxed once more and opened her eyes. Harlan smiled kindly. "I'm ready to meet my niece or nephew," he said and gazed at her with support. "You ready to meet your baby?"

She started to weep slightly with a nod as Carson kissed the top of her forehead. Sherry held her hand as they prepared her hospital bed to sit up more then brought her knees to her chest as instructed. Christy looked over Harlan's shoulder tentatively and took a deep breath. Christy and Sherry then made eye contact as their faces carried an equal amount of worry. Sherry only hoped that the time would be swift for Ashlyn's sake and wasn't sure how much more she could endure.

…

Megan sat beside Dwight as they waited to hear what was going on upstairs. Amber had a book on her lap as Mark sat by the fire while lost in thought. They said nothing to each other as they only hoped that everything would go smoothly. Dwight kept on looking at the clock and saw that an almost hour passed since him and Sherry were alerted that Ashlyn was ready to deliver. They then heard Ashlyn start wailing and gasping for air. Harlan said that she was doing a great job and encouraged her to keep pushing.

Amber placed the book down and leaned forward as she could no longer concentrate on the novel's pages. She rested her hand underneath her chin and exhaled in impatience. Megan then got up and started pacing while biting one of her fingernails.

Soon, Dwight thought. He could physically feel the weight in the room be very strained. He could only imagine what it felt like in Carson's shoes. A part of Dwight was almost glad that he never had to have the same stress in regards to Sherry. As he continued to hear Ashlyn struggle, he stood up knowing that he couldn't stand it any longer. He left the mansion to go smoke a cigarette and figured that if anyone needed him that he would just be outside. That was a situation that definitely called for a nicotine fix.

…

"Alright, you're doing great, Ashlyn," Harlan applauded as he focused on the process. "I can see a full head of hair. That baby's head is almost all the way through. Just a couple more pushes."

Ashlyn began pushing again while Sherry peeked over to see for herself. When she could see a forehead, she gazed back to Ashlyn with encouragement in her eyes. "So close! You're almost done!"

A look of anguish formed on Ashlyn's face as she started to pant for breath. "I don't feel so great," she admitted while gasping for air. "I don't know if I can do this."

Harlan stared at Ashlyn as a look of brief disturbance overcame him. Sherry noticed Harlan's change of disposition then looked at Ashlyn while feeling slightly worried. Ashlyn appeared pale in comparison to Carson's skin color which before were pretty matched. She was almost as white as a ghost. The feeling of anxiety started to arise as Harlan merged onward while focusing on the main problem at hand. "Ashlyn, give us one more big push," Harlan suggested lightly. "One final push and I think it will all be over. Can you do that for us?"

Carson put a hand on Ashlyn's head as her attention was turned to him. "You got this, Ashlyn. Once it's all over, you can sleep a bit nut right now you have to push."

Feeling buoyed up by the people around her, Sherry then saw another contraction working its way upwards from the monitor behind Carson. Ashlyn then felt the need to push and scrunched up her face with a new determination. If more push was all it took to stop all the pain, then she would do it to finally end her torment.

"And…" Harland began as he helped her along. He pulled gently while easing the baby away from Ashlyn. Sherry again looked out of curiosity to see that Ashlyn was making great progress. Once the shoulders were out, the baby was liberated at long lost as Harlan caught it in one fell swoop. Harlan brought the baby up for Carson and Ashlyn to see and smiled with happiness of his own. "Congratulations. It's a girl."

Ashlyn stared at her baby in fascination as her head leaned back against the mattress in sweet relief. "Noelle," she whispered. "Noelle Amanda Carson."

Carson and Sherry couldn't refrain their own tears from the moment that they had all just experienced together. Sherry looked at the baby and could see her beautiful round face already bore a striking resemblance to both Ashlyn and her late sister. The baby was all Ashlyn. She couldn't see any sight of Negan. For which Sherry was alleviated.

The magnificent satisfaction that appeared on Ashlyn's face then started to dwindle away as her eyes fluttered closed. The hair on Sherry's arms rose in alarm as he looked to Harlan and Terri to see if that was supposed to happen. Their faces then gave her more reason to be afraid as they stood sharp and ready to act for such a terrible moment that had recently befell all of them.

"Barbara," Harlan said as he quickly handed the baby to her but with equal care. "Clean her off and make sure that her airways are all clear. Terri, I need you to help me with this." Christy took the newborn in her arms as Yolanda followed behind her to help. They made a quick exit out of the room so the baby's crying wouldn't be another distraction while Harlan did what he had to do.

Every word that Harlan said was urgent as he watched Terri grab for the oxygen tank. Sherry moved away from the scene so they could work on Ashlyn. Carson was less reluctant to do so as Harlan nodded towards Terri to take his brother away. Terri tried but Carson stayed by Ashlyn's side with tears streaming down his face. They had so much to look forward to only for it to all be taken away before they really even began.

Terri looked to Sherry with desperation as she knew that she was the only one that could help. Harlan needed assistance with Ashlyn and they didn't need to worry about Carson watching over their shoulder. As much as he needed to be by her side, he had to leave so they could concentrate to the best of their ability.

Sherry stepped over towards Carson and started tugging on his arm. "We have to go," Sherry urged. "Your brother will take care of her, Carson. We have to let them work right now."

Carson appeared as if in a daze while looking towards Sherry then back to Ashlyn in flustered remorse. "I can't leave her," Carson confessed in complete sorrow.

"Carson," Harlan began as he looked to his younger brother with deep sympathy. It was the first time that Harlan wasn't distracted with anything as getting Carson out of the room took precedence. "We will do everything we can. You just need to trust us; trust me."

Sherry watched as Carson took a deep shaky breath. Things went from joyful to bitter in a matter of less than a minute. Sherry felt the cheerlessness in her own heart as she continued to try and usher Carson away. After what seemed like hours but was really only a few moments, Carson followed Sherry's lead and walked out of the room.

The second Sherry shut the door to give them privacy, Carson removed his glasses and brought both hands to his face as he openly cried into them. Sherry was quick to offer him some comfort as she needed it as well. The blame would swiftly go to Negan if Ashlyn died. Like many other things that he was responsible for, Sherry would just add it to the still-growing list. Carson wrapped his arms around Sherry and sobbed into her shoulder. Sherry did the same and didn't plan on going anywhere else until Ashlyn was in the clear. She couldn't imagine the distress that befell him at the time. If Ashlyn passed, Carson would raise her child alone; a child that wasn't even biologically his. It was in Carson's character to do so but the fact still seemed like salt in an already open wound.

…

When Dwight walked back into the mansion to see if there was any progress, there was no one within the foyer. He could hear a man crying from above and looked up the staircase to hear Rick and Sherry trying to console what almost sounded like Carson.

Dread overtook him as the worst case scenario played in his head. In the matter of minutes that he was outside, Ashlyn was either dead or dying. What was going to be a relaxing and carefree couple of days ended up taking a turn for something terrible.

Dwight then heard a baby cry and assumed it was Hershel. He stepped into the larger office next to the foyer and sat on the couch while wondering what to do. He was sure that Megan, Mark, and Amber were called to help with something or another as they were nowhere to be found. Dwight decided to wait and not be in the way. If they needed him, he was at the ready.

The crying started to subsite and sounded like someone was walking towards his direction. Expecting it to be Maggie and Hershel, he was surprised to see Christy come into view instead. The baby was covered by a blanket as Christy appeared completely frazzled and just as confused as Dwight felt. He stood up to greet her and perhaps assist where he could.

"What's going on?" Dwight asked as Christy looked to be bordering on losing it.

"Ashlyn is under a lot of stress right now," Christy explained as tears started to flow. She kept the newborn close to her chest in a form of comfort but kept her crying quiet to not disturb the sleeping baby. "What if we lose her?"

Dwight nodded as he worried for both Ashlyn and Carson. The whole tribulation of having Negan's child wasn't easy for either of them and adding onto the weight wasn't helping. Dwight saw that Christy had called everyone to do something to help besides him. Each person had a job to do as they tried to save Ashlyn's life. He didn't want to be the only guy that was doing nothing. "What do you need me to do?" Dwight asked.

Christy glanced down at the baby in her arms and then back to Dwight. "I need to get back up there and see if I can do anything," Christy started as Dwight's shoulders sank. That wasn't the job he had in mind or wanted. "She's cleaned up, has a diaper, and is asleep. Just hold her until I can come get her. Please?"

Dwight grinded his teeth while not particularly looking forward to holding Negan's offspring. He exhaled deeply and tried to take a brief glimpse of the newborn as its face was partially hidden behind a blanket. He still didn't get a good peek but assumed the baby had horns and came into the world with a mini baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire; a spitting image of her biological father. Christy still looked at him hopefully as he tried to find any excuse to be uninvolved with the child's life as much as possible. "Um, I have never held a baby before…" Dwight started to say.

"It's easy," Christy hastily assured as she began handing Dwight the baby girl while Dwight nearly stepped backwards to avoid the situation altogether. There was a mixture of emotion. One, even though Carson was going to raise the baby as his own, Dwight still knew where it came from. He honestly didn't know if he could personally get over that. Two, he already broke an angel statue earlier that night just by touching it and considered a newborn baby to be just as fragile; possibly more. Christy kept advancing towards him as Dwight reluctantly held his hands out in moral obligation. You told her that you would help, Dwight thought to himself. "Just make sure that her head is supported and that's pretty much all there is to it." Christy instructed.

When Dwight held her, he was surprised at how light she was. He didn't know why she felt that she needed to be warmer but he immediately had the thought and brought her closer to his chest as he saw Maggie hold Hershel similarly. He thought perhaps it was a universally known tactic to help the baby be comfortable and cry less. "So it's a girl then?" Dwight asked while slightly stunned that he was actually holding a baby.

"They named her Noelle Amanda Carson," Christy informed with small smile but then started walking out of the room. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Whoa, wait…" Dwight said quietly as he watched Christy vanish. There he was in the office all alone with someone else's kid. He had to reassure himself that the baby was sleeping and looked down to see that she appeared normal and not psychotic. That's what you want me to think, Dwight thought but started walking around the office while having a slight rock to his step.

Noelle Amanda Carson, Dwight thought to himself as he then sat down on the couch carefully. He knew the name had significance with the holiday season but didn't know exactly what it meant. He supposed it had something to do with Jesus. Not the Jesus that he knew personally but the actual deity. He continued to stare down at the baby's face and didn't really see a trace of Negan anywhere. Much like his lack of presence in the child's life, the baby didn't look anything like him. He was of the opinion that babies don't really look like anything other than babies but it was still surprising how quickly he was getting used to it…to her. Amanda was her aunt's name. Dwight remembered the moment where Amanda died just a couple feet away from him and looked down to see that the baby had a full head of hair. Same hair color as Amanda, Dwight thought as he would always vividly remember the detail of Amanda's hair in a frenzy on the porch when she killed herself. It was a graphic memory but he still knew Amanda to be another guiltless victim under Negan's reign. Just like Noelle is the aftermath.

He thought of the baby's last name. Last names didn't particularly matter in their world anymore but he thought it was still a nice sentiment and tradition. "You lucked out with your last name, that's for damn sure," Dwight said out loud quietly. He wasn't sure why he was talking to someone that didn't understand a word that he said. Yet he continued anyways. "Really lucked out. Carson is a good guy to help out with you. Couldn't have asked for a better dad. Your mom is pretty cool too but that goes without saying. I guess you'll figure that out on your own time. Why the hell am I even talking to you for?"

Just then, he saw Daryl walk into the office as Dwight wondered if he was caught talking to a baby. Daryl didn't say anything about it and instead sat down on a chair next to the fireplace. "Got a name yet?" He asked in his usual grumble.

"Noelle," Dwight replied as the baby rested on his chest. Even though he was hesitant at first, holding a baby made his body feel so calm. He actually enjoyed it more than he thought he would especially since he had been under so much stress with running Sanctuary. "She's pretty chill for just being born less than thirty minutes ago."

Daryl smirked and tried to tilt his head up to get a clearer view of Noelle much like Dwight did before. "Ain't she cold?" He inquired as he stood up beside Dwight.

"See, that's what I thought too," Dwight responded and looked at her again. "But she hasn't complained yet so why should I wake her up and bother her?"

"Hm," Daryl mumbled as he sat next to Dwight and stared intently at the newborn. "Not long after shit went south, when we were at tha' prison, Judith was born. Beth…" Daryl paused for a brief moment but then continued what he had to say. "She kept 'er most of tha' time."

"She did this thing," Daryl continued. "It was called swaddlin' or some shit like that. Keeps her wrapped up so she stays warm."

Dwight glanced down at Noelle and shrugged while thinking it wasn't a bad idea to try it. "Do you know how to do a swaddle?" He then asked Daryl.

"I never tried it myself, but I seen it done a time 'er two," Daryl explained while he sat up and brought his hands out to take the newborn. "Can't be that hard t'figure out."

Dwight carefully brought the baby in Daryl's care as Daryl gently rocked the fragile being before resting her on the couch between them. He then proceeded to lay the baby's blanket underneath her while the action started exposing her skin to the cold air. Noelle started stirring in her sleep while Dwight felt immediately annoyed for her. "Hurry up," Dwight urged under his breath.

"You asked for my help," Daryl started in his typical growl of a voice. Even though he still sounded relatively calm, Dwight could detect a hint of irritation that was starting to form at the sight of the baby beginning to wiggle from discomfort. "Shut up and lemme' do this."

Daryl continued as Dwight watched while trying to observe for future reference. Once Daryl would try and tuck one hand under a cover then began to focus on the hand, Noelle would lift it up over her head in a stretch. Daryl tried again with the first arm but again she would move her hand much to Daryl's dismay.

"Here," Dwight offered as he held Noelle's arm down so Daryl could continue with the other hand before she froze. Not that there was a worry that she would actually freeze with the fireplace roaring, but the possibility happening lingered in his thoughts.

Dwight held down Noelle's arm as Daryl pressed on in his efforts. He then stopped and looked at what he had so far while shaking his head. "Nah, I think that I was supposed to tuck tha' bottom half first."

They both looked puzzled as Dwight wasn't even sure what to critique as he was lost on any knowledge that was baby related. He simply watched as Daryl fumbled on what came first. Dwight merely assisted as Daryl seemed to go through all the motions but then would correct or second-guess himself then start again. In the meantime, the baby's aggravation seemed to increase.

"Shit, she isn't liking this," Dwight commented while he was waiting for the baby to start crying at any moment like a ticking time bomb.

"No shit, Sherlock," Daryl muttered as he nearly glared up to Dwight, "Baby ain't got all the patience in tha' world and all we're doin' is pissin' her off. Why don't you be helpful and try t'distract her or somethin'?"

Dwight put his hands up in defense while her hands shot up in a stretch over her head once more. Correcting his mistake, he put his grasp back on Noelle and tried to take Daryl's advice so she would calm down.

"Hey…" Dwight said but already felt stupid talking to a baby who didn't even understand a word that he said anyways. "You want to read a book?"

"She can't read, dipshit," Daryl huffed, "Try sayin' something t'make her happy or somethin'."

"What the fuck makes a baby happy?" Dwight quipped back while instantly getting short with Daryl's comment. Noelle started fussing out loud as Dwight made sure his next statement sounded relaxed. "If she's hungry, I can't really help with that…"

"Tell 'er she's pretty or some shit like that," Daryl shot back, "Babies like it when you smile at 'em too. Fuck man, have you ever been around 'ah kid?"

"Not around babies," Dwight answered but went back to trying to make Noelle happy as her crying only made him all the more frustrated.

"She's can tell you're gettin' flustered," Daryl groused, "Calm tha' fuck down and jus' talk to her."

"You barking at me isn't helping either!" Dwight snapped which made Noelle lose it altogether. "Shit!"

"What the hell is goin' on in here?" They both heard behind them and saw Rick walk into the room. He stepped over to the back of the couch to observe the disaster himself.

Dwight tried to think of the first words that came to his mind while trying to make the baby relax. "You're very pretty," Dwight said but it was through gritted teeth. He meant what he said but it didn't translate the way that he intended it to.

"You've gotta' be fuckin' kidding me…" Daryl said in regards to Dwight talking to Noelle so stoically.

"Did you try swaddlin' her?" Rick asked as he bent over to help them out.

Dwight and Daryl both shot him a nasty glare but then went back to their previous business. Dwight put a hand up to his temple and tried to think of what could get the job done swiftly so Noelle could go back to sleeping like she was before.

"Legs tucked in first; arms second," Rick nearly chided as he helped himself to aid them. He successfully put the blanket over Noelle's bare legs but once it came time to wrapping her arms up, she brought them back up over her arms in protest.

"Jesus," Dwight mumbled but then thought better of his tone as Daryl was proving his own theory correct. He looked at Noelle as her lower lip was shaking with vexation. Dwight forced his voice to calm down. "I was just going to say that you and Jesus almost share a birthday…"

"She's gonna' need some help from above puttin' up with your dumbass," Daryl muttered under his breath.

"Well, you guys were a lot of help," Dwight heard Sherry say behind him as she put a hand on his shoulder. Dwight glanced up to her as he could hear the contentment in her voice. Sherry stared back at him as she breathed a heavy sigh. "Ashlyn pulled through. She's okay."

Dwight then became aware of the lack of noise that came from Noelle as he turned his attention towards the newborn. Noelle's cries vanished as she was staring directly towards Sherry almost in recognition. Sherry locked eyes with the little girl as the rest of the room was glad that the wails finally subsided.

As if Sherry had done it a hundred times before, she wrapped Noelle's legs and arms with a firm yet tender touch. Within seconds, the baby was successfully swaddled while Sherry picked her up and held her close. Dwight just sat in amazement that their three-man project was put to rest in such a short amount of time. Sherry was always the one to humble him a bit with the way she did things so easily. That was another one of those moments.

"Ashlyn and Carson want to say hello now," she explained as she looked to each of them with gratitude. "Thanks for...taking care of her for us."

They watched her leave as they were each still trying to recover from the exhausting ordeal that they had all gone through. Rick was the first to speak up as he started walking out of the room. "It's late. I'm going to bed."

"Sounds good t'me," Daryl concurred as he stepped out as well. Dwight felt tired but wasn't sure if he was able to rest just yet. He decided he would step outside one more time to let himself relax a bit. Despite the last stressful minutes, he was glad everything turned out for the better for the sake of Ashlyn's family. It ended being a great night.

…

Sherry and her sisters all sat around Ashlyn's bed as she held her newborn daughter tightly. It was a shared moment between them as they each thought about how far they had come in their own time. Ashlyn seemed to endure the most of all of them but turned her upsetting predicament into something far greater than any of them could have imagined. She had a family with Carson and Noelle. She moved on.

While they all still had a long way to go, that night seemed to give Sherry hope that she would one day be the kind of person that she strived to become. They each had success at their own pace. It seemed to Sherry that she was a little behind everyone else when it came to letting things go. However, seeing Ashlyn hold Noelle made Sherry believe that there was an end to the inner suffering that she felt. With time came the mending. With the loved ones that surrounded her came the remedy. This too shall pass, Father Gabriel once said to her after a service that was provided in Alexandria.

She believed that the day would come that she would feel the fulfillment that everyone was only starting to discover for themselves. They had a lot to clean up from Negan's mess before. Sherry then felt a hand reach for her and saw Megan staring at her while crying. They all felt the peace of that moment. As long as they were together, they could rebuild and grow once more; mentally and physically. Together, they could forget.

…

Dwight sat outside as the front door of the mansion opened. The sun was beginning to rise steadily as Carson breathed in the fresh cold air. He then looked to Dwight standing next to a grave and made his way over. "Paying your respects?" Carson inquired as he glanced at the grave.

"Yeah, I thought I would give Tak a small visit," Dwight said then looked at the grave as he openly missed his long lost friend. Not a day went by that he wondered what life would have been like if he was still around. Clearly, Takuya would help assist him with cleaning up Sanctuary. The task would seem less monotonous had Takuya not met his demise earlier in that year. Miguel and Mark helped as much as they could. However, Takuya was one in a million as Dwight felt his absence every day.

They stood in silence while in the bitter cold as Dwight was reminded of something that he wanted to give Carson as a present under the circumstances. "Here," Dwight said as he reached into his large jacket pocket and handed Carson a wooden rectangular box. "I got something for you to celebrate. Since we're keeping a lot of traditions alive, I figured this would be the best one."

Carson looked at Dwight and grabbed the box from him already knowing what it was. He started to chuckle as he opened it to see Negan's cigars along with a kit to prepare them properly. "If this isn't a metaphorical middle finger to that son of a bitch, I don't know what is." Carson said as he got out two cigars for both of them to have. Dwight took his and got it ready then produced a lighter with a big smile. A lot of Negan's things were given to whoever needed it the most. However, Dwight called dibs on the man's stash of cigars but hadn't used them until that moment. There was plenty more cigars that he kept in his house.

"There was something that Ashlyn and I wanted to tell you guys," Carson said after he took one long inhale of the cigar with an even longer exhale. "A couple of things actually."

Dwight puffed out some smoke and looked to Carson with mild intrigue. "Yeah? News about a baby isn't enough for you two?" He joked with a smile.

"We want you and Sherry to be Noelle's godparents," Carson said suddenly. Dwight should've expected that from Carson. He was always the kind of person that would cut to the chase. Regardless of how he broke the news, it still would have taken Dwight aback to hear it.

Surprised at the revelation, Dwight took a much needed inhale as he thought about what his stance was before he met Carson and Ashlyn's daughter. For the entire duration of Ashlyn's pregnancy, Dwight felt that he would just avoid the baby altogether as if it would make life easier. However, he being one of the first people to even hold Noelle changed his mind entirely. Negan was no more a part of Noelle's future than he was for Sherry's. Like many, Noelle was equally as much of a victim in the situation as all the other women that he tried to destroy.

Because the idea of having children of their own was slim to very unlikely, Dwight had kissed that dream goodbye long ago and never once thought of it again. The notion of having a goddaughter was something that he didn't even entertain before. But like the tradition of last name's and Christmas trees, he supposed some things were going to stick.

"We understand if you don't want to…" Carson began to say.

"I would be honored," Dwight then clarified. "I can't speak for Sherry but I'm sure that she would feel the same."

Carson beamed at the news and nodded with satisfaction. "That's great to hear," he responded. "With how life is, you just never know if you'll make it back home after a day of clearing herds. It's good to know that she'll be taken care of by someone if that someone isn't us."

Dwight stared at Carson and smirked at the way he said it. "You sound happy with your life right now, Hector."

Carson scoffed at the sound of his first name but grinned at Dwight. "I am," Carson declared. "Ashlyn and I… We weren't planning on falling in love throughout all of this. I just wanted to help her out with something that seemed like a real life altering predicament. She didn't deserve to go through that all by herself. One thing led to another, I guess. Now I can't imagine anyone but her."

"I know the feeling," Dwight responded as he acknowledged the peace that radiated off Carson. He hoped that Sherry would one day have that same feeling throughout every aspect in her life. Dwight wanted to be what Carson was to Ashlyn and knew that he would always keep trying.

"We're getting married," Carson then said as Dwight coughed the tobacco that he just inhaled in surprise. He gawked at Carson who seemed amused at his reaction. "Father Gabriel is going to do a small ceremony sometime after Noelle is baptized… In a couple of days."

"Wow," Dwight stammered out but brought Carson into a hug. "That's great news, Carson. I'm happy for you."

They stayed quiet for a moment as they watched the sunrise. Dwight even rested a cigar on top of Takuya's grave to have him be a part of their small victory. Life was rolling onwards. The mood in Hilltop proved as much. Eventually, life would be as if they didn't have the same hardships that were only there just a moment ago. As Dwight looked down at the grave, he understood that life was fleeting. However, Takuya found hope and happiness in the life that was given to him. Dwight didn't know when it was all going to end. He just hoped to endure it well. With the people that he loved close by, he intended to do just that.

AUTHOR'S NOTES, TRIVIA, & FACTS –

#1 – The scene where both Dwight, Daryl, and Rick is small comic relief that makes a subtle reference to Three Men and A Baby. Miss apenny12 and I went back and forth with this scene on Google Docs and it was VERY fun to write.

#2 – So I feel like I have some experience with this whole giving birth thing. My first child was no painkillers, epidural, or anything… It was hell! But the nurse told me to focus on something and to not tense up my body even though it's a natural inclination when you are in pain. I took her advice as my focal point was a dead bug that was in the ceiling light. Yeah, super inspirational, I know. Of course, it didn't take away the pain but tensing up was A LOT worse. So Ashlyn is using that same old technique.

#3 – Dwight & Sherry are godparents! Yay!

#4 – I told you that this book would be slightly different, right? If you're still craving some Negan scenes, they will come. He'll make only 1 appearance in this book but will make several more in book 6 (Ghosts of War) and will return as a main character in book 7 (A Call to Arms). Even though I know most of my reader's are TEAM DWIGHT, the TEAM NEGAN readers will definitely want to stay tuned for what's to come. I won't say beyond that.

#5 – If you want some spoilers as to where Book 6 (Ghosts of War) will pick up, I am connecting scenes from apenny12's book called HOPE. We use each other's characters and I am happy that I will be introducing two characters from hers that also appear on the show that I haven't previously mentioned (maybe 1 is mentioned but not actually a main or recurring character) in my books before.

So if you want spoilers, go over to her profile and connect some dots and plots. If you are familiar with apenny12's work, than you should already know…

#6 -

#7 – Have a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa or whatever the hell you celebrate! Just make sure it's a good one!