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Chapter Twenty. Thunder.

Maggie and Glenn liked to babysit the Dixon kids. Daryl and Beth were always so worried that their three kids could be overwhelming and while they could be at times, Maggie and Glenn never minded. They said watching them was good practice for when they had their own children even though they had been married for almost six years now and they didn't seem to making a move towards having kids of their own yet. Maggie still had doubts, she supposed.

She liked it just being her and Glenn and watching her nephews and niece but giving them back to their parents in the morning. Beth had always been the more maternal one – even when they were kids. She liked that she and Glenn could do whatever they wanted without having to worry about having a child to look after. And they were more than used to getting a full night's sleep without being woken up.

When something shook her awake along with a frantic quiet "Aunt Maggie!", Maggie flew into a sitting position, instantly wide awake and her eyes flew to see that it was Hunter, which surprised her because usually, it was Abby coming into their room.

"What is it, sweetie?" Maggie asked, already pushing the covers off of her body as Glenn continued snoring next to her.

"It's Abby," he said in a whisper and he sounded scared which only made Maggie feel scared and her heart sped up.

Without asking anything, she hurried from the bed and rushed from the bedroom with Hunter on her heels. She crossed into the guest room where there were bunk beds for the boys and a single bed for Abby for when they came to stay the night and in the middle of the room, Luke was standing, holding Abby in his arms as the little girl wailed and cupped her hands around her ears. It was only then that Maggie realized there was a storm outside, rain pounding on the roof and thunder rumbling so strongly, it felt like the floor was actually shaking.

"What's wrong?" Maggie asked, crossing to them.

Luke was trying to shush her but that wasn't working as Abby was still crying.

"It's the storm. It's hurting her ears," Luke answered.

Maggie reached out and took the little girl into her own arms but Abby's crying didn't stop and if anything, she just seemed to be crying harder. It was her turn to try to shush her but after a moment, she already felt completely hopeless and looked to the two boys.

"Can't we take her hearing aids out?" She asked almost desperately.

Hunter shook his head. "We're not allowed and neither is Abby."

"Dad and mom want her to get used to noises," Luke added.

Maggie nodded because it made sense but at the same time, Abby was crying so hard, she was hiccupping and Maggie was getting a headache. This was just another reason why she couldn't be a mom yet. She had absolutely no idea what to do. It wasn't as if she could stop the storm raging outside and it seemed like that was the only thing that would help Abby right now.

Still without an idea as to what she was doing, Maggie carried Abby out of the room with Luke and Hunter following her. She took her into the kitchen and went right for the phone on the wall. It wasn't necessarily something she wanted to do and yet, she had never dealt with a hysterical child like this and this was beyond her realm of experience. She was her aunt. Not her mommy or daddy and maybe that was who Abby needed right now.

She handed Luke the receiver and dialed the number without even telling him what she was doing but Luke caught on quickly and stood there, listening to the phone rang. A loud crash of thunder shook right over the house right then and Abby all but screamed, clutching her ears.

"Dad, it's Abby and the storm," Luke said and a second later, he was hanging the phone up again. "They're coming," he told Maggie who caught herself before she could sigh with relief. She felt guilty for dragging her sister and brother-in-law out in the middle of the night in the middle of a storm like this but Maggie didn't know what to do short of ripping the hearing aids out of the little girl's ears.

Glenn shuffled into the kitchen then, yawning and scratching the back of his head. He saw Abby crying her eyes out. He saw Hunter looking quiet and worried – two things very uncharacteristic of the young boy. He saw Luke standing by the phone, looking at Abby, his face deep in thought as he tried to think of what to do. And he saw his wife, looking completely frazzled.

Without a word, Glenn came and took Abby into his arms and then went to the refrigerator, pulling out the carton of milk. He moved with one hand as he then pulled a saucepan from the cabinet and set it on the stove.

"Warm milk always used to calm me down a bit when I was a kid," Glenn explained to them all though no one had asked him to.

By the time he had poured three glasses of warm milk for the kids, they heard the pickup truck outside and Maggie rushed to the front door to unlock it. The instant Beth hurried into the kitchen and Abby saw her, Abby stretched her arms out for her and Beth plucked her from Glenn's arms into hers.

"Shhhh, it's alright, Abby," Beth began murmuring in her ear.

Abby tightened her arms around her neck and buried her face in Beth's hair.

"I'm sorry," Beth said to her softly. "We can't take them out though. We need you to hear the world around you and the world can be a loud place. The storm can't last forever though. Tomorrow, the sun will be shining and the birds will be singing and you'll be back home where you can have a tea party with Kyle."

"Here, baby girl," Daryl said in his low, gentle voice – his "hunter" voice as it was called by Beth – as he came to stand with them and held the glass of warm milk. "Uncle Glenn put this together for you."

Abby was no longer wailing now that Daryl and Beth were there. Just whimpering and her hands were still cupped over her ears. Daryl gently pulled her hands down and cupped them around the glass.

"Sip," he then told her and she sniffled but brought the glass to her lips.

"We didn't know what to do," Hunter spoke up. "We knew we couldn't take her aids out but she was freaking out."

"'s a'right," Daryl told him.

"She's lucky to have brothers like you," Beth gave them both gentle smiles. She then looked to Maggie. "I'm sorry about this."

Maggie was quick to shake her head. "There's nothing to apologize for. I just had absolutely no idea what to do and I guess I kind of freaked out, too."

Abby finished her milk and gave a small hiccup.

"What do you say to Uncle Glenn?" Daryl asked as he handed Glenn the empty glass.

"Thank you," she said barely above a whisper.

"Anytime," Glenn grinned at her.

There was another loud rumble to thunder and Daryl quickly took Abby from Beth's arms, holding her in his, all of them seeing the little girl's face screw up as a fresh round of tears flooded her eyes.

"Come 'ere. I'm gonna show you somethin'," he said.

There was a large picture window in the dining room that overlooked the back yard and Daryl carried Abby there now. Luke came to stand on one side of him and Hunter, drinking his glass of milk, came to stand on the other side of him.

"See out there?" Daryl asked, looking to Abby. "It looks dark and windy and scary, but 's nothin'. Just some water and rumbles. None of it can hurt you. Make you as wet as a dog but it can't hurt you. 'specially when you're inside like this."

Abby didn't say anything as she looked out the window, watching the wind blow the leaves in the trees and when the earth rumbled with thunder again, she put her arms around Daryl's neck and he held her a little tighter.

"'s a'right," he told her softly.

She turned her head and looked at him and she was a mini-Beth. The blonde hair and the pale skin and the big blue eyes and pale pink lips. But inside her blue eyes, he always saw him. Everyone said it. She was Beth on the outside but him on the inside and he looked at her now and gave her a small smile.

"'s a'right, Abby," he said again. "You know why?"

Abby shook her head.

"'cause I'm here and I'm not gonna let anythin' hurt you."

Abby squeezed her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly and Daryl hugged her tightly in return. He looked to Beth as she stood in the doorway between the dining room and the kitchen and she looked to him and after a moment, she turned to Maggie.

"We're going to take the kids home for the night," Beth told her. "I think it will be better if she's in her own room," she then said in a lower voice.

Maggie nodded, disappointed and relieved at the same time. She loved having her nephews and niece over; loved when they spent the night and she and Glenn could stuff them with macaroni and cheese and brownies and they would watch movies and play board games and in the mornings, they made French toast or waffles and she loved them all to death. She thought her little sister had such a great family and Maggie loved them. She also thought that her little sister had the patience of a saint because whenever Luke, Hunter and Abby went back home to their parents, it usually took Maggie and Glenn two or three days to fully recover from the visit.

The boys gathered their things before thanking Aunt Maggie and Uncle Glenn for everything and Beth ran out to the truck with them, making sure they didn't get too soaked, and then Daryl followed with Abby, getting her to the backseat as quickly as he could. The ride home was quiet with Hunter falling back asleep and Abby still letting out small whimpers each time there was a rumble of thunder. Daryl drove home as fast as he could without breaking any actual speed limits.

When he pulled in front of the white farmhouse, Beth turned in the front seat and gently shook Hunter awake, telling him that they were home. And once the boys were in their beds and the house was locked up for the night, and Abby was already falling asleep in the middle of her parents' bed, Beth and Daryl lay down on either side of her, completely exhausted and feeling as if they had just run a marathon.

Beth looked at Abby as she drifted off and she gently stroked her hair back from her face, looking at the small hearing aids as she did. "Do you think we should take them out?" She asked softly, looking to Daryl.

"'s up to you," Daryl answered with a shrug.

That answer only made Beth's brow furrow though. "Why is it up to me?"

He turned his head on the pillow, looking at her and even in the darkness of the bedroom, he found her eyes immediately. "'cause I'm not good at this kind of stuff," he told her in a voice that let her know she should have known that already.

"Good at what kind of stuff? Making decisions that involve our kids? That's bullshit, Daryl, and you know it," she said to him with a frown.

He sighed and rolled onto his side, facing her. "We made a decision to make her wear her aids," he reminded her. "You wanted her to hear us. Hear you sing."

Beth nodded then and she felt her eyes water for some reason. She looked down to Abby, sleeping, no longer upset with the storm now that she was safe between her parents. Beth lowered her head and brushed her lips across Abby's temple before resuming stroking back her fine blonde hair.

"I do," she admitted in a whisper; as if it was selfish to want her daughter to hear – especially if hearing things could send her into hysterics.

"Jus' needs to get used to them," Daryl said as if reading her mind. He paused for a moment. "If it's possible for her to wear somethin' that can get her to hear, I wan' her to hear. I wan' her to hear the world 'round her. I wan' her to be safe and that means she's got to get used to the noise."

Beth smiled faintly, loving when Daryl said so much because he didn't do it often but when he did choose to speak so much at once, he always managed to say just the right thing. She looked into his eyes as he stared into hers and she nodded slightly.

"I couldn't have said it better myself," she replied in a soft voice.

…

The storm had passed by dawn and the world was wet and clean around them. The Dixons were all early risers and by six-thirty, Beth was in the kitchen, getting breakfast together for the boys. She turned her head from the refrigerator when she heard Daryl enter and Abby was in his arm, both of them dressed to obviously go into the woods. Jeans and boots and a sweatshirt for Abby and a flannel shirt for Daryl. His crossbow was already strapped to his back and he had pulled Abby's hair up in a ponytail.

"We're gonna go out in the woods for a bit," Daryl said to Beth what she already knew. "Maybe hunt somethin' down for dinner tonight."

Beth had a feeling she knew the reason as to why Daryl was taking Abby into the woods and she smiled at Daryl's idea. She stood on her toes and first kissed Abby on the cheek and then Daryl on the lips.

"Have fun with your daddy," Beth said to her and the little girl smiled in response.

The farmhouse was surrounded by woods on three sides – which was one of its main appeals – and walking out the backdoor, Daryl bent down and set Abby on her feet and together, the two crossed the backyard and headed into the woods. It was quiet around them. A few birds were chirping and a slight breeze was rustling through the green leaves of the trees.

They walked for a few minutes until they were deep within the woods and then Daryl stopped and crouched down in front of Abby. She looked at him and he gave her a small smile; an identical small smile she returned.

"You hear that?" He asked.

He could see a look of concentration pass over her face as she seemed to really try and listen. But when she didn't hear anything, her eyes went back to him.

"No," she said in her soft voice.

His lips twitched in another smile. "'s why I love bein' out here." He put a hand on her side. "You tell me anytime you wanna come out here. You gotta leave your aids in, Abby. The world is a place that makes noise and you gotta hear it. But you wanna come out here to get away from it, I'll bring you. Okay?"

Abby looked at him and then she smiled, it growing with each passing second, and she nodded her head quickly. Daryl smiled, too, loving to see her smile and then he leaned in, kissing her on the forehead.

"Le's go catch your mama a rabbit for dinner," Daryl said as he stood up, pulling his crossbow back into his arms.

Abby walked beside him, quietly just as he had taught her brothers before her, and when she spotted the particular way the leaves had fallen to the ground, she tugged on Daryl's sleeve, pointing and showing it to him, and when he saw, he smiled at her because she saw it before him and she smiled up at him because she knew she did.

Daryl crouched down to study the leaves closer and Abby mirrored him, crouching down beside him, looking at the leaves, too. Daryl saw her from the corner of his eye and he smiled a little to himself. When she was still a baby and they hadn't known she was deaf yet, he had thought she would make the best hunter out of the three kids. And now, he knew he had been right. She was going to be amazing at everything.

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