A/N: Yes Guest you are correct, the sex scene was rushed. I was writing on the bus, on my way home from work and it caused me to rush my writing for fear of someone reading over my shoulder. Lol :) There's another (longer) author's note at the bottom, mostly a big thank you, with a small amount of bitching.
Sorry this is late, but work has been a killer this week. I am so tired.
When we got to the edge of the forest Daryl dropped my hand. I looked over at him and smiled; some things never change. He had no interest in showing affection in front of the group. I followed as he lead the way to Sophia's grave. I was surprised at how easy it was to think about that. Sophia's grave. It made me sad, no question about that, but it was not as devastating as it had been yesterday. Maybe a part of me had already given up long before Daryl brought her body back to camp.
Daryl set the rose bush down and reached his hand out for the shovel. I gave it to him and watched as he dug a shallow hole at the top of Sophia's grave. He set the rose bush down into the hole before pushing the dirt in around it and packing it down with the shovel. He walked over and stood next to me as I looked at the bush. He put one of his arms around me and I leaned over against his side sighing lightly.
"I think she would like it." I could feel him nod slightly.
"I marked it down on the map." I looked up at him confused. "The farm, I marked it on the map. No matter how far we could end up going I can get you back here."
My heart melted slightly and I reached up and wrapped my arms around his neck. I pressed my lips against his firmly and gripped the back of his shirt. I laid my body flat against his and just as he started to kiss back I pulled away and put my face against his neck. He put both hands on my hips and pushed me away slightly looking at me, his head tilted to the side. I smiled at him, pulling my arms back to rest my hands on his shoulders.
"I don't think we need to start something again. Especially after what we did in the woods." He blushed slightly and looked down. I leaned back in quickly kissing him before pulling away. "Speaking of, you tired me out. I think I'm going to take a nap."
As I walked away I tried to keep my movement steady and smooth. I turned and looked over my shoulder and smiled when I saw Daryl watching me. That was when my foot caught and I stumbled forward barely steadying myself to stay upright. I kneeled to the ground and held my ankle. It hadn't bothered me since I hurt it falling in the woods, but I must have re-twisted it just now. I winced as I rotated my ankle and felt it throb in pain. Daryl put his hand on my back as he kneeled next to me.
"What the hell, girl? Why weren't ya watching where ya were goin'?" I blushed, but didn't respond. I don't think Daryl would have accepted "trying to be sexy" as a reasonable answer. "Come on."
Daryl put his arm under my legs using the one on my back to support me as he lifted me into the air. Daryl quickly carried me to our tent setting me down before he unzipped it. I crawled inside and laid down on the bed as Daryl followed me inside. He crouched by my feet pushing the leg of my jeans up and removing my shoe. He moved my ankle around and I winced as he did. He my leg down gently before taking off my other shoe.
"Take yer nap and 'til I say so ya walk everywhere and y don' leave camp."
"What, are you a doctor now." He pointed a finger at me
"No lip. That ankle needs to get better so ya can run on it if necessary. Yer one more fall away from a break."
I nodded and rolled onto my side to sleep. I heard Daryl stand and leave the tent, zipping it up. I don't know how long I had slept when Daryl woke me up that night. I rubbed my eyes before getting out of the tent. Daryl was standing just outside the tent waiting for me. I had put on a pair of flips flops to give my feet some freedom. He turned to me before picking his crossbow up off the ground.
"We're havin' a big ole picnic apparently." I tilted my head confused, but followed him to the main campsite.
When we got there Daryl set his crossbow by a stump before pointing at one next to it. I sat down as he went and got two plates from my mom. I was surprised to see her out and about, and cooking no less. She looked at me and gave me a small smile, that I returned. Daryl handed me a plate before flopping onto the stump next to me and starting to eat. I began eating the Spam that had been cooked and it surprised me how much I enjoyed it. With how scarce food was now, any kind of store bought food tasted amazing. Everyone ate in relative silence glancing around the circle we had formed around the fire. Finally Daryl set his plate down and looked over at Rick.
"So what was this for?"
"I don't know, but Shane said it was important." Rick said looking up and across the fire at his friend. "Something that affects the whole group."
We all immediately turned to look at Shane. He remained stoic and didn't even look up from his plate. He finished the last few mouthfuls as we watched, before he set down his plate. Shane stood and walked slowly over to Daryl and I standing in front of us.
"Really this again? Gonna try and get the group to vote me out of camp for craddle robbin' or somethin'." Daryl leaned back and looked calm, but I could see one hand hovering over the knife at his belt.
"I don't see what their relationship has to do with you, let alone the group." I looked across at my mom and could tell from her face she had gone into mama bear mode.
"It does when they aren't careful. Found it in the field."
Shane reached into his pocket and tossed something at my feet. I looked down and saw a pregnancy test. It had landed front down, so I couldn't read the result, but I figured he wouldn't make a big deal over a negative. I looked back up at Shane shocked, before I glanced over at Daryl. His eyes were still focused on the test.
"Well, it's not mine." Shane scoffed.
"You two are the only ones I know sneaking off to the woods to fuck like rabbits." My mouth dropped as Daryl stood shoving Shane back. I could feel the tension as the rest of the group watched us. Rick had stood up, one hand towards us the other balance on the butt of his gun.
"She said it ain't hers, so it ain't hers."
"And even if it was what do you expect me to do? Just leave?" Shane stared at me.
"Cryin' baby will be like ringin' a damn dinner bell." I looked at him shocked.
"So you would want me to leave. Kick out the pregnant girl to keep down the noise level." I stood up holding my plate as I stared at Shane.
"It's not hers, it's mine." My head snapped to Lori where she was looking down at her plate. She looked up and her eyes were red and she looked terrified.
"Well I guess she better start packing, huh Shane?"
I watched him as his jaw tensed before he looked down. I set my plate on the stool before turning and walking from the fire. I wasn't interested anymore. Lori being pregnant didn't really matter; it would make things harder, but overall nothing would change. I could hear Daryl coming up behind me before he put his arm around me resting a hand on my shoulder. We crawled into the tent together before getting ready for bed. As I pulled on the shirt I had taken from Daryl I turned to look at him. He was laying on his back, hands behind his head, watching me. I crawled over, leaving the shirt mostly unbuttoned and laid on his chest.
"Shane's right you know." I felt Daryl shift beneath me. "We haven't been very careful, I could be pregnant."
"If ya are, ya are." He wrapped an arm around me. "We need to start being more careful. I'll borrow a horse tomorrow, go into town see what I can do. Say I'm going' huntin' or something."
I nodded against his chest. I was hoping for more of a reaction about me being pregnant. I had always wanted kids, but in this world I wasn't sure. Daryl gave absolutely no indictator about how he felt. For the first time I felt worried. I had never thought about the possibility that I could get pregnant, but now it was all I could think of. I put a hand on my stomach as it clenched. What would we do? One baby was bad enough, but two? The group may actually side with Shane and not want to deal with a ticking time bomb. Daryl grabbed my chin with his other hand and lifted my face.
"It'll be fine. No matter what." He leaned forward kissing me softly before laying back down. I snuggled into him and tried to sleep, but worries ran through my mind.
Another A/N just what you wanted: So I was going to respond to the "a nonny mouse" guest (I get it it's like anonymous, haha oh puns), because I like a free exchange of ideas and Voltaire. If you think my story is terrible I completely understand, writing is subjective and people have different tastes, but I do like a chance to defend my work. Then it occurred to me that she (or he, equal opportunity) was probably no longer reading this…..oh well, I've lost another one to the anonymity of the internet, sigh. I will say though, to read 26 chapters of a story you hated is pretty impressive; (especially when you didn't like the premise of the story to begin with) you have more persistence than I, you mysterious mouse.
Of course, I'm sure every writer can understand that a negative review gives a little sting and you have to take a moment to swallow some sadness. It made me look at the stats for this story and wow! 240 followers and 147 favorites (at least last I checked). I didn't see that coming. So I want to take a moment and thank every person who has reviewed, followed or favorited because I really enjoy writing and would do it even if those numbers were zero, but to know that some else gets enjoyment out of what I write is really gratifying. And thanks to every person who has just read the story to me that is just as important because if you're reading it, you're liking it (probably). I feel like I don't thank my readers enough, especially compared to other authors who are always giving shout outs, but I do really appreciate it when you take the time to to let me know how you liked what you read.