Summary: When Rick and Daryl along with the group arrive at the Greene farm, they aren't expecting to bump into two familiar young who have pasts with them. Daryl and Bailey Greene find that their feelings have changed for each other but with Bailey carrying a painful secret, can Daryl mend her heart. Rick reunites with his old friend Anna who changes his and Carl's world for the better. Rick/OC, Daryl/OC, Merle/Beth, Glenn/Maggie, Carl/Sophia
Somebody To Die For
Chapter 22
"Should we help him?" Anna asked alarmed as they watched out of the window.
"I dunno what we can do to help him," Merle said quietly. "I ain't ever seen him like this before. I'll go try an' talk to him."
Rick nodded. "Is there ANYTHING in these photographs that could give us any idea of where she might be?"
"It looks like she might be in a cellar or a basement." Carol said as she looked at one of the photos when Will gingerly picked up one.
He checked it carefully and stilled when he saw a woman in the photo, she had black curly hair and Mexican features.
Karen.
"I don't know about where she is, but I think I know who she's with," Will said quietly as he showed Rick and the others. "Wasn't that the woman we kicked out of here?"
"Karen?" Rowan asked as she looked at the photo. "Yeah, that's her alright."
"She's fuckin with them!" Daryl snarled furious as he ran back inside and simply sagged on the sofa looking broken.
"We'll find her, I promise." Will tried to comfort him.
Tomas and Big Tiny were getting fed up of Allen and his Mr Leader act around the prison ever since he had kicked out Rick's group.
"I wonder what Axel and Oscar are doing?" Big Tiny wondered thoughtfully as the two of them sat in one of the watchtowers.
"I don't know, probably havin' a better fuckin' time that us," Tomas muttered. "We should have gone when we had the chance."
"Well why don't we leave and try to find them?" Big Tiny suggested and Tomas nodded as they walked out of the watch tower and back to the cell block.
"Yo Tyreese, we're leaving." Tomas said to the leader who looked surprised and sad at this revelation.
"Is it because of Allen?" He asked tiredly.
Tomas sighed quietly. "A little yeah. But we want to find our friends too, we kinda miss 'em. After all, we were locked up together for three hundred or so days."
Tyreese nodded. "Alright, well, take some of the supplies with you. And be careful out there."
"We will thanks." Big Tiny said moved as they grabbed some guns, ammo and food as they got into a black SUV and drove out of the prison as the others watched.
"So where do you think they'll be?" Big Tiny asked quietly as they drove.
Tomas shook his head. "I don't know, man, they could be anywhere by now. They could have left the country for all we know," he said as the sun started to set in the distance, "But we're going to have to find somewhere to stay soon."
Big Tiny nodded as they pulled up outside a three bedroom house and parked the car in the driveway as they got out and checked around.
"Looks clear." Tomas said looking around.
"Yeah, there's no one here," Big Tiny said as he checked the kitchen, before wondering through to one of the bedrooms. His eyes widened in shock as he went back through to Tomas. "Uh... there's a girl in the bedroom tied up, I ain't sure whether she's dead or alive."
Tomas paled as he ran upstairs behind Big Tiny where they found a dark haired young woman with light blue eyes lying on the bed with her hands tied with barbed wire, she was barely moving and her breathing was laboured.
"Daryl please look after Dean and Aoife, I love you." She choked.
Tomas frowned as he looked at her. "Wait a minute… ain't that the girl from Rick's group? Yeah, she had the kid, Aoife, the cute one?" he asked as he tried to cut at the barbed wire. "Fuck, where do you live? Where is your group?" he tried to ask her.
Bailey groaned as she tried to keep her eyes open. "Mans... mansion," she whispered out. "Off... highwa-"
"I think she said a mansion, off the highway," Big Tiny said worriedly as he took the chains off her legs and looked for something to cover her up with. "Shit, we gotta get her outta here."
Tomas nodded as they wrapped her into a warm blanket and grabbed their things before getting into the car and driving off the highway.
"Daryl... Tell Daryl I love him that I know he tried to look for me." She gasped through the pain as they looked for the mansion.
Big Tiny saw the mansion alright and pointed to it.
"We better hope they're in there, it don't look like this one is gonna hold on much longer," Big Tiny said alarmed, as they noticed someone come towards them with a gun raised. "Fuck."
"GET OUT OF THE CAR AND PUT YOUR HANDS WHERE I CAN SEE 'EM!"
Tomas recognized that voice and slowly got out. "Oscar, Oscar, it's us! We came looking for you. We have something we think belongs to your group!"
Oscar froze as he saw Big Tiny and Oscar staring at him with their hands raised when he saw a figure in the back of the as Daryl ran over.
"Who is it?" He asked looking at all of them with wild eyes that held fear, grief and hope as he looked at the two men.
"Daryl?" Bailey whispered as she tried to get up.
Daryl looked into the back of the car. "I... is that?" He ran over and opened the back of the car, seeing his woman wrapped up in a blanket. "Bailey! Oh god, what have they done to ya?" he sobbed. He nodded in thanks at Tomas and Big Tiny before he ran to the house with Bailey in his arms. "Anna! Hershel!"
Anna and Hershel hurried out of the house where they saw Daryl running towards them with Bailey in his arms only wrapped in a blanket.
"Oh my god!" Anna said as they brought her upstairs as the others followed with Oscar leading Tomas and Big Tiny inside.
"Where did you find her?" Rick asked as they all sat down in the kitchen and locked up the doors for the night.
"We wanted to find Axel and Oscar, so we left the prison. But since it was dark, we stopped at some house for shelter. We thought it was empty, until we found her in the bedroom. She managed to tell us where to find you." Tomas explained.
"Thank god you found her," Carol said. "Everyone's been going crazy."
"When did she go missing?" Big Tiny asked softly as he ate some food with a cup of coffee that Carol had kindly made.
"A week ago, it's been a mess." Rick said sadly.
"Was anyone there in the house?" Merle asked them.
"No, like I said, we thought it was empty," Big Tiny replied. "Until we found her in the bedroom. I uh... she... she was naked," he added quietly.
Everyone looked upset, but they had already guessed from the pictures. "Thank you, for what you did," Rick said with a nod in their direction.
Tomas gave him a small smile. "Ain't a problem."
Everyone gave them sad smiles as they hoped Bailey would be alright.
Daryl was by Bailey's side as he gently cut off the barbed wire around her hands while Maggie did her feet, she was so pale and weak looking it broke his heart.
"Knew you'd find me, they didn't rape me but they... they touched me." She wailed and he pulled her into him.
"Shh, I'm here," he said softly. Bailey flinched in pain at his touch. It felt like she had been hit with a train, and it had reversed back over her again.
"She might need blood," Anna told them. "She's very weak; her body is having a hard time fighting."
"Where's my baby, where's Dean?" She asked looking around for her baby boy and found him cuddled in Beth's arms.
"Please let me hold him." She begged.
Beth looked at Anna worriedly who nodded as she slowly handed Dean to Bailey, with Daryl supporting her to hold him up.
"Hi, baby," she said with a weak smile as she looked down into her boy's blue eyes. She looked up again. "Aoife?"
"I'm here mama." Aoife said as she ran into the bedroom and buried her face into the crook of Bailey's neck crying softly.
"We missed you mama." She sobbed.
"I missed you all too." Bailey sobbed gripping Daryl's hand.
"I love you all," Bailey said as she held her family close to her, the family she never thought she would see again.
Anna gave them a small smile. "Bailey, do you mind if I take away the blanket? I need to check you over."
Bailey went white again, but tried to shake her head. "OK."
Anna gave her a soft smile as she gently took off the blanket with Beth's help as they saw knife marks on her chest, arms and feet.
On her stomach in bright red lipstick was the word WHORE on the middle of her stomach with deep cuts from the barbed wire on her wrists.
"They put me in a bath so I could be cleansed." Bailey said numbly.
"The men... They... they dressed me up and touched me," she choked out ashamed. "And the women, they would cut me and humiliate me."
"It's alright Bailey they can't hurt ya anymore, I aint gonna let them hurt ya." Daryl promised and she cried into him as he held her tightly.
"I thought I wasn't going to see you again." She sobbed brokenly.
"I knew ya were still out there somewhere," Daryl said as he kissed her forehead gently, while Anna cleaned up her stomach and legs and arms. "I could feel it; I knew ya were still alive. I'm so sorry I let 'em hurt ya."
"It wasn't your fault," she said with a sad smile as she licked her dry lips. "I'm home now."
"You are and I aint gonna let them hurt ya." He said as he watched her fall asleep with Dean snuggled beside her and Aoife with Ben climbing on the bed as well, he licked her foot softly before watching over her.
"Can I talk to you outside?" Anna asked gently.
Daryl nodded as he kissed her forehead gently and followed Anna out of the room. "Is everything OK? What is it?"
"Bailey has a fever, she's burning up and I think she might have an infection from the dirty knives that the men used on her." Anna explained quickly and Daryl paled.
"Is she gonna be alright?" He asked worried.
Anna stilled for a moment. "That's the thing. Because we don't have the medical equipment these days to tell which kind of bacterial infection she has, we don't know which kind of antibiotics to give her. And we can't just give her one of everything, or she would be even more ill. Not to mention her body is still very weak, and it's going to have a hard time fighting the infection off." Anna looked distraught as she looked up at Daryl again. "You and the kids might want to... I don't know... in case something happens." She wanted to tell Daryl to say goodbye in case the worst came, but she knew it would break his heart again. "Spend as much time as you can with her, while you can."
Daryl made a noise that sounded like a choked sob of grief as he nodded at her and went back inside to be with Bailey who had been washed and was in a fresh nightgown.
"Daddy hooked her up to an IV so she can get some fluids." Maggie said softly and he nodded as he lay beside her.
"C'mon Bailey fight this." He said softly.
He buried his face into her hair and took a deep breath as he held her hand. "Ya can't leave me yet, Bailey," he begged, his voice full of pain. "We've still got so much to do together. We're gonna watch our boy and our girl growing up, we need to have a proper wedding so yer marryin' a man who loves ya this time, we're gonna have lots more beautiful children, and we're gonna grow old together. Please Bailey; it ain't yer time to go yet."
Aoife came in crying, having heard most of the conversation. "Is mama dying?" she asked Daryl.
"She's not well sweetheart." He said feeling tears slide down his face as he held Aoife when they saw Dean cuddle into them softly.
Bailey started to choke then, blood trickling out of her mouth as they watched in horror and started to scream in pain.
"Please stop, it hurts!"
"ANNA!" Daryl yelled, as he tried to sit Bailey up so she didn't choke on her blood. "Anna, help her, please!" he begged, as she came rushing back in.
Anna grabbed a bucket and helped Bailey throw up the blood as she sagged against the pillows wincing in pain.
"My chest hurts, please stop hurting me I have children." She sobbed.
"Bailey, Bailey, sweetheart, wake up," Anna said softly, as she shook her gently. Her body was weak as it was, she didn't need to be using up extra strength fighting off her nightmares. "Bailey, we're here, it's us, look at us," she said as Bailey's eyes fluttered open. "I think the infection's in her lungs," she said worriedly. "Maybe Tuberculosis. I'm going to talk to Hershel," she added before looking at Maggie. "Keep an eye on her."
"I will don't worry." Maggie promised and Anna hurried downstairs.
"Hershel I need to talk to you." Anna said quickly.
"What is it?" Hershel asked worriedly. "Is everything OK with Bailey?"
"I think she's got an infection," she said as she rushed to the library and came back with a medical book. "Tuberculosis to be precise, they might have passed it on through the knives and equipment they used. We need to treat it fast before it kills her or it spreads. I need Ethambutol, Isoniazid, Pyrazinamide and Rifampicin."
"Where would we get them?" Carol asked worriedly as she searched the cupboards.
"Not in there, they're a special kind of antibiotics," Anna explained quickly. "Someone is going to have to go to the hospital pharmacy and find them."
"I'll go, ya'll stay here." Will offered as he pulled on his black leather jacket and hurried outside to get in the car when Daryl stopped him.
"Be careful and thanks." He said thickly.
"Any time son." Will said hugging him and Merle as he got into the car and drove out of the estate as everyone watched him go.
"Let's hope he gets back in time," Carol said softly, as they watched Daryl hurry back up the stairs.
Anna waited until he was gone, before she turned to look at the rest of the group with tears in her eyes. "You all might want to go and see Bailey... In case Will doesn't get back in time, and... She doesn't make it."
Everyone tearfully nodded and they all headed upstairs where Bailey was asleep, her chest rising and falling as she slept with Daryl, Aoife, Dean and Maggie by her side.
"We came to see how she was." Carol said thickly.
Daryl nodded. "Thank you," he said softly as he sniffled. He reached out to touch Bailey's cheek. "Baby, everyone came to see you," he said quietly, as her eyes slowly opened.
"Hi everyone." She managed gasped out as she tried to sit up and Daryl helped her sit up on the pillows as Rose and Dylan ran to her along with the other kids.
"Please don't die!" Emma sobbed.
Bailey gave her a sad smile, but she knew herself her body was shutting down, she didn't have the energy to fight much longer.
She looked at them all tearfully. "Thank you all for giving me a family. I love you all."
Peter and Sam hugged her tightly, their bodies shaking with sobs of fear and sorrow, Dylan curled into her along with Rose while Katy and Emma hugged her.
"Please Bailey don't go." Sophia sobbed into her shoulder.
Bailey held back her tears as she hugged Carl and Judith. "She's gonna grow up to be a big, strong girl, y'know," she said softly. She hugged Eliza and Louis, and Penny and Duane.
She heard Daryl sniffle beside her and reached out to touch his cheek gently, before looking at everyone else. "Do you mind giving us a minute alone?" she asked quietly.
"Not at all." Rick said his voice breaking with tears as he took everyone outside so they could give Daryl and Bailey some privacy.
"This isn't your fault; I want you to know that I love you, Aoife and Dean so very much." She said cupping Daryl's face.
"We love ya too," Daryl cried as he buried his face into her neck, his shoulders shaking as he sobbed. "Please don't leave me yet Bailey, I need ya. Please don't go."
"I don't want to die but I feel so very tired." She sobbed into his shirt and he held her as they both cried.
Will had just managed to grab all of the supplies when he heard soft groans.
"Oh fuck."
He didn't have time to stop and take them all out one by one. "Ya son's of bitches don't wanna be messin' with me today," he snapped, as he hurried into an empty ward, and shot at the window, the bullet taking out the glass, to give him an escape route.
He climbed out of the window as he jumped down and ran to the car and pulled out of the car park and where the mansion was.
He saw Oscar and Morgan open the gates before he jumped out of the car and ran into the house where he gave Anna the things.
Anna rushed upstairs as she set up another IV and moved Daryl aside, as she inserted it into Bailey's body, and started administering the antibiotics, praying they would work. Bailey could take months to recover fully, but it might help her body to fight off the infection.
They all watched as some colour came back on her face and she sat up with Daryl's help as they heard her stomach growl.
"I'm hungry." She said looking embarrassed.
Fuck, in the panic they'd had trying to save her, they had forgotten to feed her since she came back. Daryl smiled a proper smile for the first time in what had to have been at least over a week now. "I'll go get ya somethin', sweetheart," he said as he kissed her cheek softly. "What do ya want?"
"Chicken soup, I just want something soft." She said smiling softly as she watched Daryl go downstairs to tell the others that she was alright as Anna sat beside her along with Maggie and Carol.
"We're so glad you're ok." Maggie sobbed.
"Thank you, for saving me," Bailey said softly, as she squeezed Maggie's hand, and hugged Anna. "I love all of you."
Anna smiled at her. "It wasn't a problem, sweetie. Actually, it was Will who saved your life. He got the antibiotics."
"I need to thank him." Bailey said looking around as Daryl came back in with a tray with Will behind him along with the others as they all sat down.
"Thank you, Will for saving my life." She said to him softly.
Will hugged her gently, careful not to put any pressure on her wounds. "Ya don't need to thank me, yer my daughter, ain't ya?" he said softly as he smiled at Daryl.
Daryl smiled back at him before giving him a quick hug and looked at him with tear ridden eyes as he looked at his father.
"I forgive ya."
"Thank you," Will said softly as he pat Daryl's back. "Now, you take good care of this one, alright?" he asked, as he gave Bailey's arm a gentle rub and disappeared back downstairs.
Bailey tucked into the soup happily, she felt safe now that she was back with Daryl and their family as she leaned against him.
Dean started to fuss then and she froze, her face looking scared.
"Ya OK, sweetheart?" Daryl asked softly, as Dean reached out for Bailey.
"Do we have formula?" she asked quickly, as she pulled the blankets up tighter around herself.
"Yeah we do why?" He asked softly.
"Because I can't feed him, not after what they did to me." She sobbed as Carol came in when she saw Dean crying for Bailey.
"He's hungry, sweetheart," Carol said softly, as she gave her a small reassuring smile. "He wants his mother."
"I can't Carol," she choked out. "Not after what they did."
She then looked at Dean who looked at her with Daryl's piercing eyes and felt determination run through her as she picked him up and pulled down her nightgown slightly with Carol's help as she started to feed their son.
"I'm sorry for freaking out." She sobbed.
Daryl kissed the top of her head gently. "Don't be, we understand," he said softly, as he helped her hold Dean while she fed him. "See, he's settled already."
She gave him a watery smile as she finished feeding Dean, he cooed at her lovingly and snuggled into her as she looked at Daryl with worried eyes.
"You still want me?"
"Of course I do," Daryl said softly as he wrapped an arm around her. "I love ya more than the world, Bailey," he said as he stroked her hair. "Nothing could change that. And when yer better, we're gonna spend lots of time together, and I promise I won't let anyone touch ya again."
She smiled at him softly as she curled into him and held his hand tightly while Dean snuggled into her.
"I love you Daryl so much."
"And I love you too, Bailey," he said softly as he held them tightly. "I always have, and I always will, I promise ya that."
She smiled at him as she fell asleep in his arms.
The weeks had passed slowly and Bailey was on her way to a full recovery, kept under watch by Hershel and Anna who gave her daily medication. Daryl made sure she got enough to eat and enough sleep, and she had been on bed-rest for the last while too. She had finally managed to make it downstairs, and everyone was happy to see her, as Carol made dinner for them all. "It's good to have you up and around again, sis," Merle said with a smile.
"Thanks Merle." Bailey said smiling warmly as they all tucked into their dinner of roasted racoon with some potatoes, peas, gravy and sweet corn.
"This is delicious." Anna said smiling as she ate some meat.
"Thank you." Carol said smiling.
Rick smiled. "Are you sure you weren't a chef, Carol?"
Carol laughed and shook her head. "No, I've just had plenty of practice."
"I think it's lovely." Axel said as Bailey looked at Tomas and Big Tiny with grateful blue eyes.
"Thank you, for finding me and bringing me home."
"Don't worry about it," Tomas said softly. "We're just glad we found you in time. And you did manage to tell us where the mansion was, otherwise we probably would have been looking for Axel and Oscar for ages," he said with a small laugh.
"Why did ya'll leave the prison?" Oscar asked them curious.
"Allen acted all like he owned the damn place." Big Tiny said as he ate some more of the meat and sighed happily.
They all then heard a car pull up.
Bailey whimpered slightly and reached for Daryl, who pulled her against his chest. "It's OK, sweetheart, it's OK."
"I'll check it out," Rick said softly as he got up and grabbed his gun.
They all watched Rick leave as Bailey pulled Dean and Aoife into her and Daryl, her body shaking with fear as she soothed their children.
"She has to be here somewhere, Chris." A male voice said and she paled as she crashed to the floor, her body hitting the floor.
"Get her out of here!" Rick hissed as he looked at Daryl. "And then come back downstairs. We're going to tell them that we haven't seen her since they took her; maybe they'll stop coming here to look for her. Go!" he said, as he went to open the door.
Daryl nodded as he ran back upstairs with Carol, Beth and Rowan who stayed by her side and he kissed her gently before running back downstairs.
He met Rick at the door as they saw a tall dark blonde haired man with grey eyes walking towards them.
"Hey ya'll don't suppose you've seen a woman around?"
"Ya mean my wife that ya took from me?" Daryl snarled as Chris and Nate turned around. "No, we ain't fuckin' seen her. Where the hell is she?!"
Nate studied him carefully for a moment. "You mean... she didn't come back here?"
"No she didn't come back here, NOW WHERE THE FUCK IS MY WIFE!?" He snarled at them as Nate smirked at him.
"Most likely dead or walking around as a walker." Nate told him with a smirk.
"FUCK YOU!" Daryl snarled as he reached for his crossbow. "Im'ma kill y'all."
"Shit, let's get outta here," Nate said, as they all ran back to the car, with Daryl firing an arrow that hit one of the men in the leg.
"We got rid of them... for now," Rick said quietly as he watched them go. "But I have a feeling that's not the last we'll see of them."
"Nah, because the last time I see them, I'll be slowly killin' them all," Daryl growled.
They all heard a man crying out in pain and looked around to see a man with an arrow in his right leg as he tried to get away from the walkers.
"We're gonna question him." Daryl snarled as he dragged the man inside and shoved him into the living room where everyone glared at him.
"WHAT DID YA DO TO MY WIFE?!"
"I didn't touch her, I swear!" the man choked out as he backed away from them all. "It was all Chris and Nate; we weren't allowed to touch her! And Karen and Theresa too, I didn't go anywhere near her. I only stay with them, because I have nowhere else to go!"
"I think he's telling the truth." Carol said quietly as they all stared at the man who pleaded them not to kill him.
"I wanted to help her but I couldn't, I swear to god that I didn't hurt her. It was sick what they did to her, they kept on calling her names, putting her in freezing cold baths, drugging her, touching her breasts. They didn't do anything that would damage her womb or stop her having kids, they took videos and... photos." He said disgusted.
"Yeah, we got the fuckin' photos," Daryl snapped as he yanked the arrow out of the man's leg, causing him to yelp in pain.
"What's your name?" Rick asked him.
"Liam Carter, just call me Liam." He said breathing heavily as he pulled out a rag and wrapped it around his leg.
"Daryl, Bailey's asking for you." Beth said softly.
"She's alive?" Liam asked shocked, as he looked around the group confused. "But I thought you said she hadn't-"
"Shut the hell up," Daryl snapped as he walked past him and went upstairs.
He hurried into the room where he found Bailey holding Dean tightly as Aoife cuddled into her, Carol and Maggie by her side.
"They're going to take me away, I'm crazy." She sobbed terrified.
Daryl hurried to her side and sat down. "Hey, sweetheart, shh, I'm here," he said as he rocked her gently. "No one's gonna take you anywhere. Not with me here, I promise you," he said as he kissed her gently and squeezed her hand.
"I let you down; I'm a weak, whore, a terrible wife and mother." She sobbed into his shoulder as everyone watched sadly.
"Why did this happen?"
Daryl looked like he didn't know what to do or say. "It's OK, sweetheart," he said gently, as he looked at Carol and Maggie for help.
Carol gently rubbed Bailey's arm, "Honey I can't tell you why this happened but I promise none of us are going to let get hurt." She said comfortingly.
"Daryl hates me." Bailey said heartbroken.
Maggie looked at her and shook her head. "No, he doesn't. Not even close. He loves you. He was going out of his mind when you weren't here and when he thought you were going to die."
"Don't let them get to you," Carol said softly. "Don't let them win."
"I won't thank you." She said quietly as she fell asleep, curling into Daryl, Dean and Aoife as they watched her sleep contently.
"She's so fuckin scared." Daryl said pained as he stroked her soft curls.
Maggie sighed and gave Daryl a sad smile. "I know. But she needs you. Make sure you're there for her, and make sure she knows you love her. They probably convinced her you didn't, make her feel bad about herself again, like what Dave did."
"I will, I'm going to look after her and never let her go." Daryl said holding her close as they smiled at him.
Anna came in then looking sad, "She needs rest."
Daryl nodded. "I know. Do ya mind watchin' the kids for a bit?" he asked quietly. "I don't want them to wake her up."
"Of course we don't." Maggie said softly as they picked up the kids and headed downstairs so Daryl could look after Bailey.
"I'm gonna get ya through this."
He wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly so no one else could get to her, before he buried his face into her neck. "I love you," he said softly, falling asleep.
The next morning Bailey woke up to see Daryl holding her tightly as Dean slept quietly in his crib and she lovingly kissed them both.
"I love you all."
She sat down beside Daryl and stroked his hair gently. Daryl didn't hate her. He wouldn't be where he was if he did. She lay down again and listened to his steady heartbeat, her hand resting on his stomach. She had been too busy focusing on herself, she hadn't realised how hard things probably were on Daryl too. "My angel," she said softly.
She wouldn't feel sorry for herself anymore, she had a man who loved her and two beautiful children as she decided to cook everyone breakfast.
She pulled on some clothes and headed downstairs where she started to cook pancakes and eggs for everyone and fed the animals as well with Ben staying by her side along with Pebbles and Patch.
"Hey boy." She said stroking them all.
Ben licked her leg gently, snuggling against her, protecting her from everyone, as she cooked breakfast, and made coffee's and drinks for everyone, setting it all down on the table.
She headed upstairs to get Dean with Ben beside her as they went into the room to see Daryl half awake with a loving smile on his face.
"Good morning Daryl." She said softly as she carried in a tray.
Hey," he said with a smile as he sat up, happy to see her up and about. She set down a tray in front of him, with some pancakes, strawberries and cream, and a cup of coffee. "This looks good," he said softly.
Bailey smiled as she picked up Dean and sat down on the bed to feed him.
Dean cooed at her happily as he suckled her breasts and she stroked his hair lovingly, he had Daryl's dark brown hair and his beautiful piercing blue eyes.
"He looks like you." She said softly as Dean stared at them in wonder.
Daryl smiled at her as he ate his breakfast. "If we have a little girl, she's gonna look like ya," he said softly.
Bailey smiled as she held Dean in her arms, her beautiful boy.
"Wanna go down to the lake today?" Daryl asked gently. "Just the four of us? We could take a picnic or somethin'?"
"I'd like that that would be lovely." She said warmly as they all got ready and Daryl dressed Dean while Bailey dressed Aoife.
They pulled on their coats and Carol made them a lovely picnic.
"Thank you, Carol," Bailey said softly as she took the basket.
"Don't worry about it," Carol said with a smile. "You four have a nice time."
"We will thank ya, Carol." Daryl said warmly as they headed outside and pushed Dean in the pram while Aoife walked beside them.
They walked down to the lake and smiled, as the sun glimmered off the top of the water. They were just about to sit down when Bailey noticed something in the distance. "Look," she said, as she pointed to a small lake-house, sitting on the waters edge. "You think there's anyone in there?"
"I don't know, I've never even noticed it before," Daryl said, "Shall we go check it out?"
Bailey nodded and the four of them went into the small lake-house. It was sheltered from view, and seemed to be empty. "Must have belonged to the people who owned the mansion," Daryl said as he looked around. It had a small kitchen, a living room and dining room together, a bathroom, a master bedroom, and a smaller bedroom, all with large windows with beautiful views over the lake.
"They must have used it as a guesthouse or something," Bailey said with a smile.
Daryl smiled at her as they headed back outside and placed a blanket over the grass as they sat down and took out the plates and food out of the basket.
The food that Beth and Carol had made was lovely, doughnuts, biscuits, little cakes and cookies and she picked one up that said Mama.
"Oh this is beautiful." She said moved.
They sat and ate the food happily looking out over the water as the winter sun shone down on them. Aoife fed some of the food to the ducks, before coming to sit back with her family, her teddy bear beside her. Dean was still too young for the solid food, so he just leaned happily against Daryl, cooing and laughing as he watched the ducks swim in the water.
Bailey leaned against Daryl as they saw the sun set, it glowed beautiful amber that casted an orange glow on them.
"I like this." She said smiling as she stroked Dean's soft tufts of hair while Aoife snuggled into them all.
"I'm glad." Daryl said happily.
"Thank you," she said softly as she kissed his cheek. "For not giving up on me."
"I'd never do that," he said with a smile.
She curled into him as they watched Dean and Aoife sleep contently beside them as they held hands and saw a group of horses walking towards them.
"Oh they're from the farm." She said delighted.
Daryl smiled as he stood up and picked up Dean. "Let's take 'em back to the house," he said softly, as the horses began to follow them home.
They led the horses to the stables where Bailey led them into the warm and made sure they had hay, water and other things.
"Are they our horses?" Maggie asked delighted.
"I think so," she said as she put the horses in along with Nelly and the others. "We found them down drinking by the lake, they followed us here," she said with a smile as they went back inside, and Bailey took Dean up to his crib, and put a sleeping Aoife into her bed.
She kissed their foreheads lovingly as she went downstairs and saw Liam sitting in the corner of the room quietly as he looked at her.
"I'm glad your husband found you."
Bailey looked at him, her eyes wide, as she wrapped her arms around herself tightly. She didn't say anything, just looked at him with wary eyes as she went back into the kitchen.
"What's Liam doing here?" She asked Anna as they cooked dinner with Carl and Dylan close by.
"Daryl shot his leg, and he got left behind when the men came back yesterday," Anna explained. "He said he didn't have anything to do with what happened to you, he seemed genuinely sorry."
Bailey bit her lip as she glanced at where Liam was helping out the others and she nodded in understanding as they started to cook some of the left over racoon with some peas and carrots.
She started to set the table when Daryl wrapped his arms around her lovingly and she curled into him as she felt a need to be with him.