Summary: On the hunt for Sophia, Daryl gets gravely injured. Almost certain he was screwed; he gets a surprise in the form of an old friend.

Into The Woods

Chapter 9

Song – Paradise – By Coldplay

When she was just a girl
She expected the world
But it flew away from her reach so
She ran away in her sleep
And dreamed of
Para-para-paradise, Para-para-paradise, Para-para-paradise
Every time she closed her eyes

When she was just a girl
She expected the world
But it flew away from her reach
And the bullets catch in her teeth
Life goes on, it gets so heavy
The wheel breaks the butterfly
Every tear a waterfall
In the night the stormy night she'll close her eyes
In the night the stormy night away she'd fly

And dreams of
Para-para-paradise
Para-para-paradise
Para-para-paradise
Oh oh oh oh oh oh-oh-oh
She'd dream of
Para-para-paradise
Para-para-paradise
Para-para-paradise
Oh oh oh oh oh oh-oh-oh-oh

Aleigh felt a sense of freedom for the first time in weeks. She was back in her jeans and a reasonable looking top and Daryl had helpfully managed to find her a new black leather jacket since her previous one had gotten left behind. Her boots had gotten cleaned up at some point and she had been given the okay by Hershel to go along with Daryl and Merle for a hunt in the woods. She was actually giddy about getting to spend time with just the brothers; it felt almost like the old days all over again.

As the three hunters crouched down in various spots around a clearing where they had set up some bait, Aleigh thought back to the mall trip the other week. They had looked around and around until they came across a store that you would only find in a southern mall system. It sold weapons of all kinds and Aleigh was pleased to see that there were still things left. She had gotten Sophia two black sais with matching holsters while Daryl had brought Sophia a bow. The girl had shyly asked Daryl if he could teach her how to use a bow and he had told her he'd think about it. Aleigh was happy to see that Daryl was making an attempt at surprising their young ward and so far it seemed to be going well.

It was Sophia's birthday the next day which was why there was a hunt in place to try and pick up something that could be used for a meal.

All three of them had different weapons. Daryl had his crossbow, Merle had a gun with a silencer attached (not an easy thing to find but somehow he managed it) and Aleigh had her sais and a few small knives that she had practiced with throwing the other day. She would admit that her aim was a little off but she knew she'd still make a hit if need be.

"Come on little deer...or big deer...big one would be good." Aleigh muttered to herself as she shifted slightly, her leg starting to get stiff from her crouched position. She could see Merle across the way from her and Daryl crouched in a tree to their side. "Any day now."

Finally after what felt like hours, a deer made its way into the clearing. Aleigh held back whistling at the size of it and shifted down onto a knee as she carefully brushed aside her bush cover and got ready to aim. She couldn't see Merle past the deer but she could see the leaves rustling as Daryl took aim.

All at once, the three of them let loose. Daryl's arrow hit the deer in the chest, Merle shot it in the neck and Aleigh was pleased to see her knife had gotten the unfortunate creature in the eye. It fell to the ground and convulsed for a few seconds before falling still.

"This should last us for a couple of days at least" Daryl said pleased as Aleigh wrenched her sai out of the deer's eye with a wince.

Aleigh was about to say something when all of sudden she suddenly felt a wave of nausea rush through her and she heaved in a bush, feeling her stomach knot queasily.

"Ya alright Aleigh?" Daryl said worriedly.

Aleigh wiped her mouth "I'm alright Daryl, I'm alright" she said softly.

Merle caught her eye and looked at her worriedly; he knew what was wrong with her alright but couldn't bring himself to say anything.

They went back to the gated community and Daryl took the deer with him and Aleigh and began skinning it.

Aleigh went upstairs to shower and wash the taste of vomit from her mouth. Things were getting too strange, too much. As she stood under the shower, with everything piling up and all the signs messing with her head, she began to cry.

She wasn't certain, she didn't even want to think about it, but too many things pointed to just one conclusion.

She was late.

She had never ever missed a period. She even got it on a regularly scheduled time when she was on the pill before. She was always careful. She didn't want to admit that this was happening, that there could very well be something growing inside her. She didn't even want to think about how Daryl would react.

Thinking about the hunter made the one question that had plagued her for years pop up in her head: Did Daryl love her? It had never been said, nothing ever brought up. She knew how she felt, hell, it was the reason she had taken off before. But she couldn't do that now. There were so many people and she couldn't just leave Sophia.

Aleigh wiped her face with a towel and stepped out of the shower. She changed into a pair of comfortable jeans and a grey pineapple dance studio t-shirt with her red hair around her face. Looking over her reflection, she decided to just do what she did best and ignore things.

Daryl finished skinning the animal as he remembered him and Aleigh sleeping together. He thought about the times he held her in his arms and just watched her sleep. For the last few days Aleigh had been on and off sick. He thought for a while that maybe it had been some sort of internal infection from her wounds but even without x-rays, Hershel was able to squash that theory. Aleigh was a healthy as a person her age could be under the circumstances they all dealt with.

He wondered about everything going on as he slid his knife through the deer's belly to remove its innards.

They had come up against walkers at the mall when they all went there and Aleigh had asked if they had always smelled as disgusting as they did. Everyone else had just brought up that the smell was nothing new which made a few people curious as to how it was suddenly bothering the red headed huntress.

Daryl paused for a moment, knife in hand, looking at the large belly of the animal.

Could Aleigh...no...no way, they were good, they were careful.

Okay, so they weren't always careful but she had found birth control pills when they first joined Merle's group and they had gone off to the mall that first time.

With a nod of reassurance to himself, Daryl continued his work until the deer was good to hang out to dry and then he went into the house to clean up. He took a shower, noticing that Aleigh was lounging away in their bedroom with a book in her hands. He didn't bother to bring a change of clothes with him into the bathroom so he returned to the bedroom afterwards with jut a towel wrapped around his waist.

"You're dripping there cowboy." Aleigh remarked, grinning as her eyes never left her book.

"Well I am wet." Daryl countered, walking over to the bed.

Any thoughts of their possible current predicament was always fully gone from their minds as they both made decisions in their own heads to ignore it and just live life as normal.

Of course, that involved Aleigh's book being thrown aside as she pulled Daryl onto the bed and rolled over on top of him.

"Think it's my turn up here." The red head teased. "You get on top far too much."

"Well go on then, woman." Daryl ordered, pulling Aleigh's shirt up over her head. "Show me what you got."

Sophia traced around Carl's still body with a piece of chalk and tilted her head as she tried to keep the outline as close to him as possible.

"You done yet?" Carl asked, frowning slightly.

"Almost, calm down." Sophia grumbled. She bit lightly on her tongue as she concentrated then stood back. "There, all done, now you're a casualty."

"Cool." Carl remarked, getting up and looking down. "That's pretty good; you want me to do one for you now?"

"Sure." Sophia agreed, handing over the chalk. She lay down on the road then bent her leg up and moved her arm to get a funnier shape. Carl laughed slightly and got to work. "So what do you think about your dad and Tanya?" Both of them glanced over at Carl's house where Rick and Tanya were outside working on some guns.

"I don't know really." Carl confessed. He crawled around Sophia's body, dragging the chalk along the edges. "I mean I like Tanya but...it's kind of weird. My parents were fighting a lot before this all happened and when dad got shot..."

"Did you believe he was dead like Shane said?" Sophia asked. She lifted her head to look at him and he just gave her an angry look so she put it back down.

"No I didn't." Carl replied. "My dad's a superhero, they don't die." Sophia raised an eyebrow but stayed quiet. "I wasn't really happy with my mom but I still miss her though."

"I miss mine too." Sophia muttered. "But Aleigh and Daryl are great. Wouldn't it be neat if they had a baby?"

"Why?" Carl asked.

"I don't know." Sophia answered with a slight shrug. "I think they'd have a cute one. Then I could be like a big sister and teach it things."

"Maybe they'll have a baby, I don't know." Carl remarked. Sophia nodded, accepting the response and then returned to staying still so Carl could finish her outline.

Daryl rested his hands on Aleigh's hips as she rocked herself up and down above him. His eyes drifted from her face down over her breasts and toward her flat stomach. He ran his thumb over a scar residing there and lifted his hips up to meet with hers, bringing a grunt out of her full red lips.

"You sure know...how to put on a show." Daryl grunted out, earning a breathy laugh from the woman riding him. She leaned forward, hands on his chest, slowing her movements slightly. Daryl watched her and groaned slightly as she went all the way down and rotated her hips.

Aleigh closed her eyes, enjoying the moment and letting their heavy breathing be the soundtrack for their actions. She felt Daryl slide a hand over her thigh then up between her legs to rub his fingers against her wet folds. She moaned loudly and leaned back again, this time her hand falling just above his knees as she lifted her hips up only to drop them back down in rapidly increasing motions.

"Aleigh..." Daryl groaned, right before he sat up. He looped his free hand around her back and dragged her up, pressing her breasts to his chest and holding her there as she continued moving. He moved his mouth along her neck and took her ear lobe gently between his teeth. "Fuck girl...you know you're gorgeous."

It was one of the most sentimental type of things Daryl had ever said to her and it was enough to send Aleigh over the edge, her arms clutching at him as her nails dug into his back. Daryl grunted against her neck and thrust upward a few times before he finished and dragged Aleigh back down onto the bed to catch their breaths.

The next morning Aleigh rushes out of the bedroom and ran to the bathroom heaving and gasping for breath.

Aleigh suddenly realises with a horrible lurch that she is most definitely pregnant.

Pregnant.

Aleigh's mother had made it very clear that she hadn't wanted her from the day she was born; Aleigh's dad had raised her and had a steady job as a motorcycle racer.

Although Aleigh's life wasn't as bad as Merle and Daryl's her mother was always being emotionally abusive towards her, Aleigh had her dad's personality and shocking green eyes, the only thing that Aleigh had of her mother was her dark red curls.

Aleigh's mom finally died at the age of thirty seven when Aleigh turned sixteen years old, her dad had died when she was fourteen in shooting in a bar.

Aleigh lightly touched her stomach, could she raise a baby in world where the dead ruled and where the living survived.

Aleigh had always been pro-choice and never agreed with abortion; after her dad had died her grandmother had taken her in and raised her as her own god bless her.

Aleigh suddenly broke down sobbing underneath the hot water still in her jeans and t-shirt crying.

God how in the hell was she going to tell Daryl.

Daryl and Merle's mom seemed nice compared to hers.

Aleigh decides to talk to Tanya about everything and glances at Daryl who's watching her with those piercing blue eyes.

"I'm going to see Tanya" she told him and Sophia, nodded while Daryl grunted and Aleigh felt hurt.

"Won't be long" she murmured and she left.

When Aleigh meets Tanya at the house she shares with Rick and Carl she was glad that Tanya seemed to pick up on something being wrong. Tanya took Aleigh out into the back yard where the grass was going almost up to their knees where the red head immediately broke down.

"I don't know what to do Tanya. God, I'm so freaked and confused and...I just don't know what to do!" Aleigh sobbed. Tanya blinked and stared at her. "There's...I mean...I don't...it's not..."

Tanya hugged the young woman comfortingly "Honey I know things are hard but you can't keep on running away from your problems" She told Aleigh softly. The red head looked at her then sighed.

"I love him Tanya, I really do love him but he doesn't love me" She said sadly.

"Have you asked him?" Tanya asked. Aleigh paused then shook her head. "Well, what did he say when you told him you loved him?" Tanya raised an eyebrow when she got no answer then sighed. "Aleigh...you have to tell him."

"No, it's just obvious." Aleigh countered.

"You're an idiot." Tanya said lightly. Aleigh frowned and crossed her arms. "Not to mention you don't seem the type to get this...emotional. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" Aleigh snapped, making the other woman blink. "Sorry. I'm fine...really...I'm fine."

"Uh huh." Tanya muttered slowly. "Are you sure there's not something else behind this freak fest?"

"Nope, nothing else." Aleigh answered quickly.

"You know you can talk to me, right?" Tanya suggested hopefully. "With anything."

"I know." Aleigh assured her, patting her hand. She paused to think about everything. Her mother had made it very clear that she hadn't wanted Aleigh from the day she was born; her dad had raised her and had a steady job as a motorcycle racer.

Although Aleigh's life wasn't as bad as Merle and Daryl's, her mother was always being emotionally abusive towards her. Aleigh had her dad's personality and shocking green eyes, the only thing that Aleigh had of her mother was her dark red curls.

Aleigh knew Daryl had been a mistake despite Merle confiding in her that despite what their dad said Merle didn't see Daryl as a mistake neither did their mother, who had died at the age of thirty three.

Daryl and Merle's mom seemed nice compared to hers.

Aleigh's mom finally died at the age of thirty seven when Aleigh turned sixteen years old, her dad had died when she was fourteen in a shooting at a bar. After her mom died, Aleigh had moved in with a boyfriend, the place Merle had eventually saved her from a year later.

"Aleigh?" Tanya asked, snapping the red head out of her musing.

"Sorry Tanya, I just...there's a lot going on." Aleigh apologized.

"Hey, this...may seem a little...umm...well...are you pregnant?" Tanya questioned. Aleigh lost some colour in her face before she rapidly shook her head. "Are you sure?"

"Yep! Perfectly sure! Absolutely!" Aleigh squeaked out, trying to be overly chipper. Tanya just raised an eyebrow, not convinced. "I'm not."

"Okay then." Tanya muttered. "You should talk with Daryl though; at least...you know...the love thing."

"No, Dixon's don't do emotions." Aleigh recited mindlessly, her expression dropping. Tanya sighed and put an arm around her friend's shoulders. "Something Merle liked to tell me before."

"Well maybe things have changed." Tanya suggested. "I've seen how Daryl is with you. I mean hell; he pointed that crossbow at me when he first saw us coming out of that room when he came to save you. The guy definitely has feelings for you."

Aleigh looked at her friend. Part of her was ecstatic about the prospect of Daryl actually having feelings for her. Another part just didn't want to believe it after everything that had already happened; she just didn't want to set herself up.

"So how's it going for you and Rick?" Aleigh asked, not wanting to think about her problems anymore.

"Are you just changing the subject or are you actually interested?" Tanya asked.

"I'm actually interested, I swear!" Aleigh insisted. Tanya just looked at her and nodded. "So?"

"It's good." Tanya replied. "Going along slowly but...it's nice. After everything that's happened." Aleigh smiled at the obvious joy in her friend. She was glad for the distraction away from her own issues.

"Come on baby bro, its man time." Merle called out as he walked into the house. Rick followed him, still watching the other man cautiously. Both of them froze when they see Daryl, sitting with his head in his hands and looking so...

Vulnerable.

Daryl looked up at them, pausing and thinking for a moment, then cracked. "What do ya do when ya think your girl's pregnant?" he asked, looking at the two men he only trusts.

Merle snorted "So you finally figured it out then, way to go." Merle said with a smirk. Both men stared at him, Daryl going pale.

Rick was more serious "Have you talked to Aleigh about it?" the ex cop asked softly.

"Oh, yeah, I totally have, that's why I'm sitting here like this." Daryl muttered sarcastically. "Of course I haven't!" He grumbled and put his hands back over his face.

"Well are ya going to stick around baby bro and look after yer woman and little Dixon?" Merle asked him cautiously. Despite the hilarity of the situation, he was still protective of Aleigh and cared about her. If Daryl wanted to leave, Merle was definitely going to be sitting there to keep an eye on the young woman.

"I ain't gonna leave her alone if that's what yer saying Merle" Daryl said angry "I ain't our old man" he added.

Merle nodded in approval "Good, now, go tell your damn woman that you love her already!" His snapping made the other two men stare at him once more.

"You guys need to get out of denial first." Rick pointed out. "Especially Aleigh. The way she acts, if she is pregnant, she needs to stop." Daryl just nodded slowly, considering.

"Are we done getting in touch with our ovaries here?" Merle asked, through with the heart to heart. "Come on, there's man stuff going on, the rest of the boy spotting a herd coming round and we're gonna take them out."

"I could do with shooting something." Daryl admitted, grabbing up his crossbow. "Or a few somethings, for that matter."

It's been a month since Daryl found out that Aleigh's having his baby and things are bad.

Literally.

Daryl didn't talk to Aleigh.

Aleigh didn't talk to Daryl.

In fact, over the next month or so, they rarely seemed together at all. Aleigh had taken to playing with the children or hanging around Merle or Tanya at every available chance while Daryl was back out, always hunting.

Everyone noticed.

And when everyone notices, everyone gets involved.

When people try to get two emotionally scarred people to talk about their feelings and work things out, it makes those scarred ones more withdrawn. Soon enough, They were barely even staying in the same room. Aleigh fell asleep more often then not in Sophia's room, reading the girl stories at night. Daryl tended to favour the couch, leaving their bedroom completely empty most nights.

"This is getting ridiculous!" Patricia exclaimed, pacing around in front of Merle. "How can you just sit there and let them be like this?"

"I know them." Merle explained with a shrug. "Listen sweetheart, ain't no one out there that can make decisions for them two. All y'all keep getting involved ain't don't nobody any good so everyone needs to just back off them and let them work it out."

Patricia huffed but said no more on the matter.

Gradually, everyone else followed suit.

By the time two months had rolled around, everyone had finally let it go. Aleigh and Daryl ended up talking again but only if they were together on hunts or scavenging which the rest of the group supposed was good enough.

A routine trip to the mall seemed almost like the perfect time to get them back together as the trip up held them conversing almost normally.

"We're gonna need to look into a different place soon." Aleigh muttered, looking around the ransacked mall. "Think we've gotten about as much as we can get."

"Yeah...pick up a map and see about close locations later." Daryl agreed. Everyone split up to pick up the last of what the mall offered.

"So she definitely is." Rick commented carefully, glancing at Daryl as they moved through a pharmacy.

"That's the way it seems." Daryl grumbled, frowning. Rick sighed, knowing the topic irritated his friend. He paused for a moment then grabbed a bottle of prenatal vitamins off a shelf. He slipped it into his bag and spun around when there was shuffling and groans coming from outside the store. A couple dozen walkers stumbled their way inside and through the central corridor.

"Damn it." Rick muttered, frowning. He took out his gun and got ready to aim when something dropped down from the upper level, impaling a couple of the walkers and drawing all the attention in. "Oh holy shit."

"What was...FUCKING ALEIGH!" Daryl yelled out, yanking his crossbow around in front and opening firing as Aleigh twisted through the herd to slash them down. "If they don't kill her, I will."

"Just kill them!" Rick ordered, firing out. The others joined them soon enough to finish off the rest and then all hell broke loose.

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING?!" Daryl yelled, marching over the dead bodies to get right in front of the red head. "ARE YOU FUCKING BRAIN DEAD?!"

"I was following them since they got in the mall!" Aleigh shot back. "I don't see what the big deal is."

"You don't see the big deal?" Daryl asked. Aleigh crossed her arms. "Jesus fucking Christ Aleigh! The big deal is you're Goddamn pregnant and don't give me that damn look because even you gotta realize it's true by now!" Aleigh just glared at him, arms tightening slightly as they crossed over her mid section. "So you can't be jumping into herds of walkers and not only risking your own hide but that baby's as well."

"I know what I was doing!" Aleigh argued.

"Oh well then, by all means, KEEP FUCKING DOING IT!" Daryl shot back. "CUZ APPARENTLY AIN'T NOBODY AROUND THAT KNOWS ANY BETTER!"

The group all flinched when Aleigh's fist connected with Daryl's chin, sending him dropping back onto a dead walker's body. The red head narrowed her green eyes and stormed off, nobody knowing if they should go after her or not.

When Aleigh got to the house she shared with Daryl and Sophia, she ran to the bedroom and packed all of her things before leaving the house feeling strangely old.

Sophia saw her heading for the SUV and begged her to be taken along. Aleigh begrudgingly agreed and they took along some of the food from the house before leaving.

That's what Daryl was told anyways, and all he had to go on. When the group got back, they didn't find Aleigh, or Sophia, and one of the original children of the group said there was talking going on before the two got into an SUV and left.

Daryl missed Aleigh more than he would admit.

He missed seeing her red hair glow in the sunlight and the moonlight. He missed her laughing and smiling. He missed waking up to her soft hair in his face.

More than ever he missed Aleigh's soft voice, talking to him for whatever reason.

Aleigh and Sophia's disappearance took a toll on a few people. Merle was angrier then ever and wouldn't even talk to his brother. Tanya and Carl were sad over losing their friends. Several people throughout the group were constantly worried.

Daryl had made the attempt to go after the girls, spending a couple of days out on the motorcycle. He was kicking himself for telling Aleigh it was harder to track on concrete then dirt road. Rick was with him, trying to offer support but nothing pierced through Daryl's sudden bout of depression.

Sophia was upset. She wanted the old Aleigh back. The one who smiled and laughed with her. The one she had now was a sad lonely woman who would cry in her sleep. She would look at the sun, the moon and the woods with sad haunting lifeless green eyes.

Things came to a head when Aleigh collapsed and laid on the cold road with her red hair flowing around her like a river of blood.

"Aleigh? ALEIGH!" Sophia's shocked screeches echoed around them as she ran from the SUV to check on her guardian. The small blonde shook Aleigh lightly and frowned. "Aleigh? Come on wake up. Come on, I know I keep telling you that you need more sleep but I didn't mean out in the open!" She whimpered slightly then put her bow in the SUV before reaching under Aleigh's arms and trying to drag her back to the vehicle.

Rick looked around from his spot on the back of Daryl's motorcycle then nudged the other man, signalling for him to stop. Daryl looked confused until he heard what he was sure Rick had heard, yelling.

Sophia's yelling.

Daryl sped off in the direction of the sound. It didn't take them long to find her. Sophia kneeling next to Aleigh, unconscious on the ground, a small bump showing beneath her shirt. Rick climbed off the bike and made his way over to them while Daryl just sits, frozen to his spot, feeling like his heart is breaking.

He should never have let her go off. Never should have just let her storm away on her own, giving her the chance to take off like she's done before.

Daryl shook his head and ran to Aleigh then. He crouched down and looked her over, noticing how ill she looked.

"Sophia, has she been eating much? Sleeping at all?" Rick asked.

Not really." Sophia answered miserably. "She's been dizzy all day. And...and been sore, in pain kind of."

"Too much stress, it's hurting the baby." Rick explained. Those words bit deep into Daryl. Guilt taking over as he held the woman close. "Daryl...go with Sophia in the car. I'll take your bike back. She needs to be somewhere safe; somewhere she can get food once she wakes up."

"I'm sorry Daryl." Sophia apologized, watching Daryl lift Aleigh to put her in the SUV. "All this time I was trying to tell her to go back. I didn't want her on her own."

"It ain't your fault, Sophia." Daryl assured her. "It's all mine."

Rick watched them and sighed then went back to the bike and got on. Sophia opted to get into the back seat to sit with Aleigh while Daryl drove the SUV, following behind his motorcycle.

Daryl silently carried Aleigh out of the SUV and inside the house when they reached the community. Rick sent Sophia over to Carl before getting the necessary assistance. Daryl brought Aleigh up to their room and carefully laid her on the bed.

"Get through this darling, ain't gonna lose you." He muttered, squeezing the woman's hand.

"Daryl." Tanya's voice made him turn around to find her standing there with Hershel and Patricia. "You need to wait outside."

"It's going to be crowded enough in here." Patricia explained. Daryl grumbled but put down Aleigh's hand and walked out. He collapsed on the couch in the living room and sighed, running his hands over his face.

He couldn't lose Aleigh and the baby. Their baby. God this was all his fault. He stood up and paced around the living room then punched the wall. His hand erupted in pain and he used it as a distraction.

If Aleigh died...well...he would never forgive himself for letting her go.

There was yelling upstairs that brought his attention and Daryl looked up, frowning.

"We need to get her medicated, we need an IV!" Hershel's voice carried down the stairs. The panic in them brought Daryl flying up the stairs to the bedroom. He opened the door and stared at Aleigh as she looked to be having a panic attack.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU LOT DOING?!" Daryl yelled.

"Daryl, we need you out of here." Tanya commanded, moving over to try and get him back out of the room. "We have this under control, please let us do it."

"But she's..." Daryl started.

"Trust us!" Tanya snapped, her Russian accent coming out strongly. Daryl glared at her then stepped back. He could hear Tanya ranting off in Russian as she closed the door on him and couldn't help the moment of being impressed by the shy young woman standing up to him.

He couldn't help staring hopelessly at the door though as he listened to the people on the other side. He sat himself down against the opposite wall and settled in for a long wait.

The sun was rising when Hershel stepped out of the room, looking tired. He looked down at Daryl who had his forehead on his knees and his arms around his legs, possibly asleep. The old man nudged the hunter and waited until he stirred.

"Aleigh's...tired." Hershel explained as the other man got to his feet, bones cracking slightly. "She's weak and she'll need to stay in bed for a while. She also needs to keep off the hunting trips and anything else outside of the community. Anything that can cause her stress is an immediate no."

"And the baby?" Daryl asked worry in his voice.

"We don't have an ultra sound machine." Hershel explained, sighing. He ran his hand over his head. "We can only assume right now that its okay. She makes no signs of pain when prodded so that's good." Daryl nodded slowly, accepting that. Patricia and Tanya walked out of the room.

"Go on in." Tanya said calmly.

The rising sun cast a red glow into the room. Daryl stepped in and the door was closed behind him. Aleigh's dull green eyes opened to look sleepily at him. Her face was ghastly pale and the dark circles under her eyes just made it all worse.

"Shit...Aleigh." Daryl muttered, crossing the room before he even knew what he was doing. He sat on the bed and pulled the woman into his arms. She tensed up and made to push him away. "I'm sorry. Damn it baby, I'm so sorry."

Aleigh slowly stopped fighting him and relaxed. She didn't return the hug; she was just too tired to move.

"I never should have yelled at you." Daryl apologized. "Never should have let you go. God Aleigh, this last while, the whole time, it's been a mess." he kissed her forehead and looked at her eyes. "I swore I'd never let you go again and I didn't follow through. I ain't deserving any forgiveness but I wanna try for it. Because I can't lose you again, I'll be stupid a lot but I'm gonna be careful from now."

Aleigh just looked at him, taking in his broken, heart sick appearance. She was just so tired, she couldn't make herself talk or say anything. She just wanted to sleep but she didn't want him to go anywhere.

"Aleigh..." Daryl muttered softly, holding her head in his hands. "Aleigh...I...I gotta say...you..." He sighed and shook his head, closing his eyes momentarily. When he opened them, he could see Aleigh getting closer to falling asleep but fighting it. She wanted to hear what he had to say and he had to say it fast. "I...damn it Aleigh, I love ya. Have since...well...I don't even remember now. I'm sorry I keep letting you go but I ain't ever doing that again, I promise."

"Daryl..." Aleigh managed to whisper out before her exhaustion took over and she went slack in his hold, eyes closing.

Daryl laid her down gently then carefully gets in next to her, holding her close.

For the first time in months, they both slept peacefully.

The next morning Aleigh woke up feeling a pair of familiar strong arms wrapped protectively around her pregnant stomach.

Daryl.

He had told her he loved her and that he was sorry for what had happened, Aleigh wanted to cry and apologise as well.

Daryl woke up then and looked down at Aleigh with such a tender expression on his face, Aleigh is sure she'll burst into tears of happiness.

"Hey don't cry woman, its ok" Daryl told her softly and Aleigh nuzzled into his chest.

"How are we going to have a baby Daryl, this isn't a place for a child let alone a baby" Aleigh cried feeling emotional.

Daryl thumbed away her tears with his rough hands and looked into her deep green eyes that he loved.

"I'll protect you three, Sophia, you and our baby I promise" he told her.

Aleigh curled into him even more "Touch me Daryl please" she told him fumbling with his shirt.

"Aleigh, doc folks said you gotta rest." Daryl pointed out even as he let her remove his shirt.

"They also said I should stay in bed." Aleigh argued. "What better thing to do in bed to keep me from going insane?" She leaned up and pressed kisses just below his ear. "Show me that you love me."

That argument won him over faster than anything else Aleigh could have said or done. Daryl gently laid her flat down and kissed her softly. His hand skimmed up her jean clad thigh then skipped over the zipper and lay flat on her stomach under her shirt. Daryl caressed the skin lovingly before pushing up Aleigh's shirt. She lifted her torso to help take it off then laid back down at Daryl's gently insistence.

"This time..." The hunter muttered, softly kissing his woman's lips. "This time, we do it right." He laid kisses across her jaw and neck, working his way down. Aleigh watched him, her hands running over his arms but doing nothing else. His hands lifted to cup and caress her breasts, his elbows supporting his body on either side of Aleigh's torso. He laid kisses on the small bump of a stomach. "Don't worry lil one, papa ain't gonna rock ya too bad."

Aleigh burst into laughter at that moment, not believing what she had just heard. "Oh God!" She uttered, shaking her head. "Did you really just...oh God."

Daryl chuckled lightly before nipping at the red head's hip, bringing her mind back to what they were doing. Aleigh calmed down and sighed in disappointment when his hands slid off her breasts to pull at her zipper. She lifted her hips to assist in the removal of her jeans and watched with dark lusty eyes as Daryl hooked his fingers around her panties and instantly tugged them down and off. He settled between her legs, fingers running softly over her inner thighs as he gazed warmly at the pink folds before him.

"I realize it's been a while cowboy but are you seriously just gonna look at it?" Aleigh asked, regaining her former impatience. Daryl smirked mischievously up at her before moving in and blowing lightly on the wet flesh. Aleigh squirmed and sighed happily. Almost three damn months was too fucking long. They were idiots, that were for sure, but there was no denying their way of making up was phenomenal.

Daryl brushed his tongue against the folds. He looped his arms under Aleigh's legs and pressed his hands to her hips to hold her down. He shot her a look before moving back in and slowly tracing the flesh with his tongue. Aleigh never thought going slow would drive her that mad but it did. Everything was soft, gentle...slow. She tried to buck up but it was no use, his hold was firm. His tongue rubbed circles on her, slipping inside every so often. Her hands gripped at the blanket for something to do that wouldn't be attempting to speed up the process.

Suddenly Daryl wasn't between her legs. He pulled himself up, kissed her cheek softly, and then slowly slid into her. Aleigh gasped at the feeling, Daryl groaning at the tightness of the familiar passage. He brushed his hand over her cheek, making her look at him, and then began to move slowly and carefully. His head dipped down, kissing her neck, keeping in time with the deep slow thrusts. Aleigh ran her hands up his back, fingers falling across scars and rubbing gently as if she wanted to rid him of the pain they represented.

"I love you." Aleigh whispered breathlessly, rocking her hips just slightly to get a bit more friction. Daryl groaned a happy sounding noise. His next thrust went a little harder and Aleigh moaned beneath him. His pace picked up slightly as they neared their peaks. Aleigh shifted and kissed his neck, holding him close as they crashed together with moans and a profound feeling of togetherness.

"Well...glad we got that all settled." Daryl muttered lightly, rolling onto his side and pulling Aleigh along with him. She laughed and hit his arm as his hand snaked down to rub her belly. "We'll manage this. That kid's gonna have the advantage of knowing this way of life it's whole life. Rest of us still tend to cling to things of the past."

"You're the only thing in my past I want to cling to." Aleigh whispered. Daryl kissed her forehead and laid on his back, pulling Aleigh against his side and running his fingers lightly down her back. "How many people know?"

"Probably everyone now." Daryl replied. "If they didn't before, they sure as fuck will know." Aleigh giggled softly and snuggled into his chest, listening to his heart beating. The sudden mental image of her stomach being much rounder and Daryl's ear pressed against it made her break into a fresh set of laughter that caused the hunter to stare at her, wondering about what was in her head.

"I'll...tell you later." Aleigh muttered, wanting to keep it to herself for a while. Daryl just grinned and shook his head lightly.

"Women." He muttered.

"You love it." Aleigh countered.

"Yeah...I do." Daryl agreed softly.

Merle couldn't help but be happy for his baby brother, finally admitting to Aleigh that he loved her and that he loved their baby.

"I'm an uncle at fuckin forty two, ha eat that old man" Merle said to himself with a smirk.

"Hey Merle would you like to have dinner with me?" Patricia asked the older Dixon kindly, she was soft towards Daryl's older brother.

Merle stared at her for a moment before offering the woman his arm and Patricia happily took and they walked to his house smiling.

Daryl was touching Aleigh's small baby bump with tender touches as Aleigh traced his scars with feather light touches.

"...And then I'll teach ya how to skin whatever you catch." Daryl muttered down towards the bump. Aleigh rolled her eyes and shook her head, smiling slightly. "But gutting might have to wait until you're a bit older. Unless, you get a strong stomach. Sophia ain't so good at watching things come out of the animals like that. But that don't mean ya get to tease her about it, ya hear?"

"Daryl...I don't think it's got it's ears fully formed yet." Aleigh tried to point out.

"Well it's getting told anyways." Daryl shot back lightly.

"I'm hungry." Aleigh suddenly realized, bringing a halt to Daryl's commandments towards the unborn. He looked at her for a moment then got out of bed and pulled on some clothes.

"I'll find ya something, shouldn't too hard." Daryl explained. "Figure someone would have left something downstairs for ya by this point." Aleigh smiled slightly and watched Daryl leave before she carefully got out of bed to get some of her own clothes on to combat the chill that was settling into the room.

Aleigh pulled on a pair of black sweats, a black long sleeved top with black socks and went downstairs, where she found Daryl trying to scrape up something. She watched him for a while and felt a burst of remorse hit her and felt tears trickle down her face.

Damn hormones.

She shook her head and brushed off the wetness before Daryl could see it. When he finally noticed her there, that wasn't exactly what got his attention.

"Thought the doc folks said you wasn't supposed to leave the bed." Daryl scolded.

"I got bored." Aleigh remarked.

"Bored or not, you ain't supposed to leave the bed." Daryl repeated his statement, causing the remorse to fade out of Aleigh and get replaced with annoyance. She huffed and crossed her arms, giving him a look that clearly said 'whatcha gonna do about it?'. Daryl took the challenge and crossed the distance to her before lifting her up over shoulder carefully. Aleigh yelped, surprised, then watched him pick up the plate of food and head back up the stairs.

Sophia walked in and paused to watch the strange couple ascend to the upper floor then shook her head, smiling.

"What's he doing?" Carl asked from behind her.

"Being protective." Sophia replied with a giggle.

Carl and Sophia followed the couple upstairs where they found Daryl and Aleigh in the bedroom. Carl decided this was probably the time to go home so he turned to his friend and poked her arm. She looked at him with happy blue eyes and a smile.

"I'm gonna head out. See you tomorrow Sophia?" Carl asked softly.

Sophia smiled more at him and nodded before kissing him on the cheek. Carl blinked in surprised but returned the gesture, leaving the blonde girl blushing.

"What the hell did I just see?" Daryl's angry voice made the teens step away from each other and look into the room. Daryl was frowning in their direction while Aleigh just grinned.

"Oh leave them alone, cowboy." The red head scolded, flicking Daryl in the ear. "It's cute."

"It ain't cute!" Daryl snapped. "Ain't no boys gonna be kissing my girl."

"Uh...now I really think I should be going." Carl muttered. "See ya Sophia." He hurried down the stairs and headed out the door.

"Yeah you better run!" Daryl called after him, leaving Aleigh in a fit of laughter and Sophia smiling while shaking her head. The young blonde ran into the room and jumped on the bed. She threw her arms around Daryl and kissed his cheek. "What was that for?"

"For being awesome." Sophia replied.

La-la-la-la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la
And so lying underneath those stormy skies
She'd say, "oh, ohohohoh I know the sun must set to rise"

This could be
Para-para-paradise
Para-para-paradise
This could be
Para-para-paradise
Oh oh oh oh oh oh-oh-oh
This could be
Para-para-paradise
Para-para-paradise
This could be
Para-para-paradise
Oh oh oh oh oh oh-oh-oh-oh