Since I wrote this along with the last chapter, it was pretty much done. I edited it this morning and while I was tempted to hold on to it, I figured that would just be mean. If I was you, I'd want to find out what happened next. So.. In the spirit of giving you guys what you want, here it is.
The days turned into weeks. Slowly Stella turned back into her old self. Except with him. Oh, she was perfectly polite to him, but anytime he brought up what happened she'd just look at him sadly and say it didn't matter anymore.
It was the day after their latest trade day. The prison yard had been packed with people trying to get different things. They were all finishing dinner when Alice's brother Andrew ran over. "Stella! Hershel! They just brought Alice into the clinic. She's all messed up." After a second's pause everyone was on their feet, running over.
Stella and Hershel ran over to the bed right away to look at the girl. Daryl saw the blood drain from Stella's face as she took in the torn clothes and massive number of injuries. Quickly they pulled the makeshift curtain closed and started telling Beth and Carol what to get.
As they did that Andrew explained what happened. "Frank went to go into the storage room in this building and he noticed that one of the gates was unlocked so he went through. He found Alice a ways down. She's all bloody. Do you think she was bit? Do you think a walker got in?
Rick tried to calm him down. With everyone from the other cell block trying to get into the infirmary, he ended up sending them all back over to their sleeping quarters. He turned towards Daryl and Tyreese. "If the doors were open, it can't be a walker. But how the hell did someone get the gates open?"
Two minutes later Stella came around the curtain. "She's dead." Stella took a deep breath. "Rick, can I talk to you?" She gestured him over. When Rick got close she brought him around the corner to a small office and shut the door. Daryl could see Stella talking through the glass in the door. He began to move closer. Rick obviously didn't like what he was hearing.
Just as Daryl got to the door Rick exploded. His voice carried right through the door. "Jesus Christ Stella! You didn't think it was important to tell me some rapist had the key to this section of the prison?"
"Rick, please! I didn't even realize it was missing for a week and then nothing had happened..."
Rick was close to losing it. "God Damn it!" He stormed past her and yanked the door hard enough to cause the glass to shatter when it slammed against the wall.
Daryl felt as though he was frozen to the spot. When Stella turned and saw him standing there she paused. Then without saying a word she brushed past him and walked back to the other side of the prison.
He must have stood there for five minutes before he turned and followed her back. It all made sense. The bruises, how withdrawn she was, the fact that she never let Gertie out of her sight anymore, that she hadn't been outside of the prison since.
Rick looked up as Daryl passed by. "Shit! Daryl! Wait up!" Rick ran over and tried to keep pace with Daryl's long strides. "I don't know what to say. I... You shouldn't have found out like that." Daryl ignored him and kept going. "Daryl, wait! Look, you think maybe she doesn't want to see anyone right now?" Rick tried to reach out and stop him.
Without thinking Daryl lashed out. His fist caught Rick squarely in the jaw. "Ever think you shouldn't have talked to her like that? You think that was easy for her?" He yelled down at Rick. Rick was shaking his head trying to clear it. Pulling his temper back in Daryl continued on to look for her.
Finally, he found her in the library. She was sitting in one of the oversized chairs, feet tucked up under her. She didn't look his way, but she must have heard him because she said, "I killed that girl."
Whatever he had expected her to say, that certainly wasn't it. "What? No you didn't." He knelt down before her. "Why would you say that?"
Stella stared down at a stain in the rug. "You were right. I have a way of putting myself in some pretty stupid positions. If I hadn't gone out there alone... Jesus, if I had even just been paying attention to what was going on around me, she'd still be alive. I know better than that. I mean, look at how we met. And then afterwards, at the very least I should have told someone about my key being missing."
Her words made him think of all the times he had told her she couldn't look out for herself, that she was being reckless. Sometimes he was just so stupid. "No Stella," he said firmly. "You can take care of yourself. You have always been able to." The next part he said so quietly that it was almost a whisper. "Sometimes I wished that you couldn't. That you needed me more." Unable to help himself he reached over and took her hands in his. When she didn't automatically pull away he continued. "It wasn't your fault. This isn't your fault."
They both were silent for a minute. Daryl gently said, "You could have told me. I would have..." Daryl trailed off as Stella started shaking her head.
"No.. I couldn't Daryl. I just couldn't." Her eyes started to moisten.
"Why?" He heard himself ask.
Tears began to flow down her cheeks. "I... I was afraid you wouldn't love me anymore. That you would think I was... less. I don't think I could stand it if you thought that." Slowly she brought her eyes up to look at him.
"Babe," he whispered. In one smooth motion he scooped her up and twisted so that he was now sitting in the chair with her on his lap. As her arms twisted around his neck he feathered her face with kisses. "I could never think that." He held her as she cried.
"Daryl?" she sniffled.
"Hmm?" He rubbed his hand up and down her back as he breathed in that smell that was so uniquely her.
"As long as I'm being honest here, there's something else." She said quietly. He pulled back to look at her. She was chewing on her bottom lip. "I'm pregnant."
He felt his eyes go wide with shock. He took a breath to steady himself. "I don't care. The baby never has to know-"
Stella laid her fingertips against his lips. "No. Daryl, when Hershel took a look at me that night he told me. I was pregnant before. I'm about ten weeks."
He did the math in his head. "But you took a test. The test was negative." Daryl managed to choke out. She had been about five weeks pregnant when he left her.
Stella shrugged. "Hershel thinks it just wasn't sensitive enough because it was old. I was writing everything off due to something else, but Hershel was sure."
His eyes roamed her body. Weren't her breasts a little fuller? Her waist a little bigger? Daryl narrowed his eyes. "When were you planning on telling me this?"
Stella let out a strangled laugh. "Honestly, I think I was kind of hoping you wouldn't notice for a while. I'll admit, I didn't exactly think it through."
"A baby? Really?" he said as the information finally seeped through. All the information. His voice hardened, "Hershel knew about all this?" She nodded warily. He stared off into space then turned his eyes back to her. "He looked at you? Said you were all right?" He could feel himself holding his breath as he waited for her to answer.
She looked up at him. "I'm fine, the baby's fine."
He pushed her hair back away from her face and gently laid his lips on hers. The sound of someone clearing their throat had them breaking apart and looking over to the door. Tyresse was standing there beaming down at them. "What?" Daryl snapped. He was not happy about the interruption.
"Rick wants to see you both, gotta figure out what to do." Tyreese said.
His words reminded Daryl of the fact there was a dead girl over in the clinic, of how she got that way. His jaw clenched. That son of a bitch was here right now. He stood up quickly, causing Stella to squeak in surprise. He lowered her feet to the ground and took possession of her hand before she could move away.
When they got to the common area everyone was there, even Michonne. She had been gone for the last six weeks, scouting out some of the other trading posts in the area that had popped up. Stella squeaked out her name when she saw her and ran over to give her a hug. It was a little awkward because Daryl still had a firm grip on her other hand.
The women started talking to each other at once. Daryl was having a hard time following because not only were they talking over each other, they were both asking and answering questions at the same time. It was only when Rick cleared his throat loudly that they quieted down.
"I've checked with the guards, they're sure no one has left since the trades were completed yesterday. Alice was seen after that, so we have to assume that whoever did this is still here. Stella, you're sure that he only has the one key right?"
Daryl could tell that she was uncomfortable, and she moved in closer to him. He transferred her hand to his other one and slid his arm around her waist. She took a deep breath. "Yes. I kept that key separate. I found the others on the ground and had assumed that one fell out of my pocket as well, but he must have taken it. It only opens the doors in the clinic and Cell Block A. That's it."
"Alright, what I propose is this. We have all those padlocks and heavy chains. I say we padlock all the doors around block A and the doors to the clinic. Everyone stays with someone else tonight. We do a sweep of the grounds. If we don't find him, tomorrow we go in and clear it, section by section, putting padlocks behind us as we go. Agreed?"
As everyone nodded Stella spoke up. "There's something else. He knew me. He knew who I was. He might be familiar with the prison, either as a trader or he could have just been watching. Either way, he might be aware of places he could easily hide."
"What do you mean, he knew you?" Glenn asked. "What he say?" He moved to put his arm around Maggie protectively.
"Just... little things. He knew I had a dog, that I worked in the clinic. Called Daryl a redneck." She looked over at him. He just shrugged. She turned her attention back to the group.
"Can you tell us what he looked like?" Tyreese asked. "If he's a trader maybe I know him." Tyreese worked security on trade days and had gotten pretty familiar with the regulars.
Stella nodded. "Tall, well over six feet, medium build. 40's. Light brown hair. He was blind in his right eye. Had a scar from here to here." She indicated from just above the brow line to the middle of her cheek.
Merle walked over to stand next to them. "Sound like anyone you know baby brother?" Daryl nodded tightly. Son of a bitch. He had always wondered what hole that asshole had crawled into.
Andrea was shaking her head rapidly. "No, he wouldn't do that. There's no way. Why would you lie?" she shouted at Stella.
Daryl moved protectively in front of her. "She wouldn't. Besides, I never gave her a description of him. Why would I?" He stared down at Andrea, a hard expression on his face. Any respect he ever had for her had vanished after that day in the woodshop. He had always suspected that she knew Stella hadn't left, that she'd come looking for him. She had been looking for a way to hurt Stella, and she got it. In ways she never dreamed.
Tyreese was confused. "Who we talkin' about?" He looked from one person to the other.
"The governor." Michonne spat out. Apparently she still felt the same about him. "Sick freak," she said almost to herself.
There was a murmer as everyone looked at each other, as they remembered the fight with Woodbury. "It doesn't matter who it is." Rick said. "The situation is the same. Tyreese, Merle, Glenn, Michonne.. why don't you four come with me. We can clear the yard and put the chains on the doors. Daryl, can you..." Daryl shot him a hard look. "stay here and watch out for everyone?"
"I'll come too," Andrea said.
Rick looked over at her. Daryl wasn't the only one that had misgivings about Andrea. Most of the group had frozen her out once they found out what happened in the woodshop. Stella was too highly respected, too well liked for that to go over well. Funny thing was, it was Merle who opened his mouth. Stella never said a word.
"Fine, if you want to," Rick said. It was clear by the sound of his voice he wasn't happy about it. "Axel, Ben? Can you two put chains around the doors to the living area? I just don't want to take any chances."
The group began to disband. Lori came over and wrapped her arms around Stella. "Honey, are you alright? I'm so sorry, I should have known something else was wrong."
While the two women talked, Daryl walked over to where Hershel was sitting. "So now you know," he said.
Daryl nodded. "She said you looked at her, that's she's alright." He could feel his hands starting to shake so he shoved them in his pockets.
Hershel pushed himself up. "Physically she's all healed. Mentally... I just don't know. She's been beating herself up about this a lot. She's better but I don't know what this will do to her. It's good that she decided to say something though. I think it'll be good for her."
Daryl looked over to where Stella was. It seemed as though she was comforting Lori. Woman wasn't happy unless she had someone to take care of. "Yeah, probably." He turned back to Hershel. "And the baby?"
Hershel grinned. "Finally got around to telling you about that too? Thought she might be giving birth before she said anything. Baby seems fine. We'll do an ultrasound in a few weeks to see if there's anything obvious that we can pick up on."
Daryl shifted uncomfortably. "Thanks Hershel for being there for her. I...I'm grateful." It was almost painful to say. It wasn't that he was lying, it was just that he was angry that such a thing had happened to her and he had no idea, jealous that someone else had been there for her. Even if was a white haired, one-legged old man.
When the other group came back, Merle walked over to where Daryl was leaning against the wall. "Got this place locked up tighter than a virgin's knees. How's she doing?"
Daryl could see Merle's jaw clench. According to Merle, pedophiles and rapists were the scum on the bottom of the barrel. Besides, Stella was one of his own. Merle didn't like any screwing with his family.
"She's pregnant." Merle's eyes darted over to look at Daryl. "It's mine. I wanted you to know in case anything happens to me."
"Planning on something happening?" Merle asked quietly.
Daryl shrugged. "I'm gonna find and kill that son of a bitch. Don't think I'm fool enough to think he's completely defenseless." He looked over at his brother. "You'll stay here, look out for her." It wasn't a request.
Merle nodded slowly. "Blood is blood. I ain't never gonna leave mine." He started laughing. "So a baby huh? I hope it's a girl and looks just like her mama. Keep you on your toes." As Merle's meaning sunk in, Daryl frowned. Merle clapped him on the back and walked away.
As soon as the shock that he might actually end up with a daughter wore off, Daryl walked over to Stella and took her hand. He gently tugged her in the direction of the rooms. She followed him silently. When Daryl shut the door behind him he paused. He had no idea what to do.
Stella must have seen the indecision on his face. She turned and reached above her to one of the shelves and pulled down a nightgown. Daryl nodded, understanding. He felt the same way himself. While he had missed her, and wanted to be with her, he couldn't help thinking about everything he had learned tonight. Those thoughts didn't exactly inspire romance.
Daryl shed his clothes and climbed into bed waiting for her. As he lay there on his side he watched her. Now that he knew, it was so obvious. There were small differences everywhere. He held back a chuckle as she sighed with enjoyment when she unbuttoned her pants.
After she donned the nightgown she climbed into bed next to him. Daryl wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close, turning her so that her backside was pressed up next to him. He spread his palm out over her belly. He still couldn't believe it, after so many months of trying, for it to happen now, with everything that happened?
"Stella?"
"Hmm?" she responded as she snuggled in closer to him.
"I'm sorry I left. I'll never leave again, I promise," he whispered in her ear. Stella twisted in his arms to look at him. "Every time I've walked away from you it's been a mistake. I'm done making that mistake. I love you so much."
She didn't say anything, just pressed her lips to his. Her arms went around his neck. The kiss slowly built in intensity. Daryl groaned as he felt himself getting hard. A moment later she rolled back, pulling him with her. Daryl broke away to look down at her. "Are you sure?"
Stella smiled a slow smile. "Very sure." She pulled his head back down.
They took their time, there was no rush. His hands travelled her body, he was amazed at how different it felt already. Her hands pressed him closer as she fitted him into the notch between her thighs.
Daryl gripped the nightgown that had bunched around her hips. Kneeling back he pulled her up so that she was straddling his lap. He gently lifted the nightgown off her, admiring the way her hair cascaded around her shoulders. He buried his hands in it, and tilting her head back he brushed his tongue against her neck. Stella moaned, her fingertips kneading his back.
Gently he laid her back to remove her panties. As he tossed them to the floor he leaned over her and slid down her body. His mouth pressed against the gentle swell of her abdomen. There was a baby in there. His baby. Their baby. Her hands gripped his arms and pulled him up. Daryl settled in between her legs and looking in her eyes he slowly entered her. Stella's eyelids fluttered, as her lips parted, sucking in a sharp breath.
"Are you okay?" Daryl asked gently. He'd stop if she asked him to. It might kill him, but he would.
Stella's eyes opened and fixed on his. "I won't be if you stop now," she replied, her voice thick with passion. The bottoms of her feet rubbed down his legs even as her hands skimmed down his back to settle on his hips.
Daryl held her head between his hands and kissed her lightly as he began to move within her. His strokes were unhurried and smooth. Even as he began to increase the pace, she pushed him lightly on his shoulder. He instinctively rolled off her. She followed him and settled back on him. As she began to move above him he gripped her hips the tips of his fingers digging into the soft flesh. Just as Stella arched back, a cry of pleasure escaping, he sat up and buried his face in her breasts, smothering his own groan as he lost himself in her.
The next morning Daryl came back into the room just as Stella was strapping the scabbard around her waist. Her bow was already out and strung. Daryl could see the hilt of another knife sticking out of the top of her boot, and a gun was tucked into her waist. Daryl exhaled forcefully. She turned around to face him.
Daryl walked over and undid the leather belt holding the knife. "You never do put this on right," he said as he adjusted it lower onto her hips. He yanked her in next to his body, his arms wrapped tightly around her. He understood why she had to go. She had more of a reason than anyone. "You stay close, no matter what," he murmured into her hair.
Nodding she reached down to take his hand. "Come on, everyone's going to be waiting."
When they got to the common room of the cell block just about everyone was there. Only Hershel, Carol and Beth were missing. Daryl guessed that they were in the infirmary, getting ready in case the worst should happen.
Rick looked over at Stella. Taking in her appearance he pressed his lips together tightly, clearly unhappy that she was planning on going as well. Still, he didn't say anything. Daryl always knew he was a smart man.
Rick cleared his throat as a signal for everyone to quiet down. "Charlie and two of the other guards, Mark and Brian, have volunteered to go with us. We'll meet up with them when we head over. Tyreese I want you and Andrea together. Axel, you'll be with Ben. Glenn? Michonne. Carl, you'll be with me. Daryl? Merle and Stella. We'll go in through the clinic. We clear out the main passage together, chaining the junction doors on the way. When we head back, at each junction one group will break off and search the side rooms. Axel and Ben will stay in the main corridor with the keys to the padlocks. If you get done with your section, they'll let you into the next. You stay with your partner no matter what. If you find this asshole, you don't take any chances. He's already killed one of us." Rick gave Andrea a hard look. "If everyone's clear, let's go meet up with the others.
Daryl watched as Stella walked over to Lori, Gertie trotting at her side. The two women had a short conversation then he saw Stella give Gertie the command to sit. She reached down and gave her a quick pet. Stella turned and walked back over to where he and Merle were waiting.
"So..." Merle said as she got closer. "Daryl tells me you've finally decided to make me an uncle. What the hell took you two so long?"
Stella gave Merle a dry look. "Oh, I don't know Merle. Maybe I was really fighting off my attraction to you this whole time."
Merle burst out laughing and threw his arm around Stella's shoulders. "I am pretty irresistable, aren't I?"
Stella shook her head in disbelief. "You're a prince among men Merle."
The meet up with the guards outside of the clinic. It was Brian who asked the question. "How did this guy get keys anyway?" Daryl felt Stella freeze beside him. He understood how she felt. It was one thing for the people in their group to know what had happened, it was another thing for everyone to know.
He felt her relax when Tyreese answered. "Hershel said one of his keys went missing when he was over here one day. Didn't even realize it for a while." So that was going to be their story. Daryl was grateful. What had happened to her was her business, no one else's.
They moved into the clinic and after quickly clearing the area, headed into the main corridor. Daryl, Stella and Merle branched off from the main group. There were three of them, so they took one of the junctions with more side rooms. Silently they continued their sweep. Daryl was relieved Rick had put Merle with them. The two men sandwiched Stella between them, determined not to leave her unprotected as they headed from room to room. They were in the second to last room when they heard the faint sounds of gunfire. It was brief, lasting no more than a minute.
Immediately Daryl and Merle turned to head back down towards the main hall. "No!" Stella called out, "We have to finish. You're assuming that someone didn't fire accidently, or that whoever they found came alone. There could be more than one person in here."
Merle and Daryl looked at each other then almost in unison moved back to take their places. She was right, but it didn't mean either one of them liked it. It went against their nature to ignore a fight.
As soon as the last room was cleared the three of them hustled back up the corridor. They had to yell for a few minutes before Ben came running over with the keys. "What took you guys so long? Did you not hear the gunshots?" Ben asked as he undid the padlock.
"We heard them, just had to be sure, they guy might not be alone." Daryl said gruffly. "What happened?" They all moved through the gate and Daryl threaded the chain back around and snapped the lock shut.
He glanced back at Ben, wondering what the hell was the matter with the kid, why wasn't he answering? Ben was staring down at the padlock in Daryl's hand, a guilty look on his face. "Shit, you didn't lock the doors behind everyone did you?"
Ben plucked at the hem of his shirt, "No, I just thought..."
Merle cut him off. "Doesn't matter. We'll lock them on the way. Start talking." He started off down the hall, the rest of them trailing behind him.
Ben started talking quickly, anxious to redeem himself. "It was Glenn and Michonne. Glenn got grazed, but it's not bad. Anyways, Glenn managed to draw his fire while Michonne circled around. He never even saw her coming I guess. Anyways, they brought him out here." Ben took a deep breath. "She won't let Rick shoot him." Merle pushed open the door and they all stepped out into the yard. "Why won't she let Rick kill him?"
Just as Daryl shrugged he heard Stella say quietly behind him, "She's holding him for me." Daryl turned to look at her. She was staring at the scene in front of them.
The governor was on his knees in the middle of the yard, Michonne's katina at his throat. Rick was a few feet away, gun drawn, the barrel pointed at the governor's head. He and Michonne were clearly having a heated discussion. Michonne just kept shaking her head. Andrea stood a few feet behind Michonne, shock and disbelief on her face. The rest of the group was huddled around loosely.
Daryl stepped over to Stella's side. "Did you ask her to?" His voice was low. As much as he wanted to be the one to pull the trigger, if she wanted it, it was hers.
Stella's eyes meet his. "No, but Michonne's old testiment, eye for an eye and all that. She thinks what ever we do is mine to decide. She's not wrong. " She shifted her gaze back to the group and moved forward.
Daryl watched as she walked straight over to stand in front of the governor. Every muscle in his body tensed, ready to spring forward if he needed to. Daryl strained his ears to hear what she asked. "Why would you come back here?"
The governor looked up at Stella with unbridled hostility. "You fucking people. You ruined everything. We didn't have enough men left to protect the walls. We didn't have fences and locks like you have here. What do you think happened?"
Stella looked down at the man kneeling before her. "We know what happened. Did you think we didn't scout you out from time to time? See what you were up to? We never wanted any issues with you, but you took our people. You came to take our home. What did you think we'd do? Clear out and give you the key?" Stella paused, "I'll ask you again, why are you here now?"
The governor chuckled lightly. "You think this is the first time I've been here? Before you patched that hole up in the back I used to move in and out of this place all the time. Anything I could do to make life harder for you people. The fire? The missing supplies? It was too bad you caught Billy that time, you ended closing that opening off pretty quick. Knew I'd have to find some way to get rid of that fucking dog of yours. I must have tried to lure that dog a thousand times before she finally came to me last month. She licked up every drop of that antifreeze. Have to admit, I was surprised to see her still alive."
The whole group tensed. They all remembered the time one of the traders had kicked Gertie. It had taken both Glenn and Rick to pry Stella off the man. She had broken his nose and knocked out a couple of teeth. As they yanked her away she managed to leave claw marks down his face.
Even as Daryl moved to step forward, Stella turned to Michonne. "You've been looking for a new pet right? Think he'll do?" Michonne's armless, jawless walkers were ledgendary within the prison. They allowed her to move through groups of walkers without being detected.
Michonne smiled as she lowered her sword and stepped back. Stella began backing away, pulling an arrow out of her quiver.
Andrea ran over to stand a few feet away, "No! You can't do that! It's not right."
Stella barely spared her a glance. "It's already done." She turned her back on them both to get to a good firing distance.
Suddenly the governor lept to his feet and knocking Andrea over, yanked her gun out of the holster. He twisted to take aim at Stella's back.
Daryl sprang forward and grabbed her around the waist, turning so his body protected hers. A gunshot rang out just before they fell to the ground.
It had been Ben that fired, his bullet catching the governor in the middle of his chest. As soon as Daryl was assured she was fine, Stella moved to stand over him as bloody foam began bubbling out of his mouth. As soon as the governor breathed his last breath Stella looked over at Michonne and nodded. Michonne drove her katina into his brain.
"Thought you weren't going to do that," Daryl commented.
Stella shook her head. "I was always going to kill him. I just didn't want him to know that. I wanted him to think that he was going to spend God knows how long, walking around as one of those things. With out a jaw or arms on top of it." She wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her head in his chest. "I don't ever want to see his face again. I want it to be done."
Daryl held her close for a minute then pulled back. Grabbing her hand he whistled for Gertie. "Come on," was all he said. When they got to the gate she stopped. Daryl smiled back at her, waiting for her to take the step outside on her own. Finally she stepped through.
Daryl lead the way. When they reached the turn off for the marsh Stella would have started down it, but Daryl shook his head. "This way." He kept going for another few miles until they came to a pretty steep rocky hill. Turning to her he asked, "Can you do this?"
She laughed lightly and started up. "No problem for me, but you have Gertie." It was a slow climb with Daryl having to hoist Gertie up over some of the steeper sections. Finally they reached the top. They walked through a small stand of trees, and Stella gasped. There was a beautiful, clear lake. She turned to stare at him. "How?"
He chuckled. "I stumbled upon it one day. It's cold, but it feels great." He dragged her forward. Stella laughed as she hurried to keep up with him.
Daryl started peeling his clothes off, forgetting to remove his boots before he shoved his pants down. Stella's laughter echoed over the lake as she watched as he toppled over. When he was finally able to stand back up, he narrowed his eyes and advanced on her. Stella hurried to shed her clothes before he reached her. "There!" she cried triumphantly just as he swept her into his arms and charged into the water.
Not done... not yet.