Thank you for all the comments!
"Where'd Merle go?" Ani asked Daryl early in the morning after the incident with Wade as they were getting ready.
"Out."
"Out where?"
"Out."
"Dammit, D! The bastard went afta Rick and Wade, didn' 'e?"
"Asshole should be dead anyway," Daryl growled out.
"D..." Ani sighed in exasperation.
"Just get your shit together so we can get goin'. We'll take the damn bike. Get there and back faster."
"Everythin's goin' ta be alright, D. It was jus' the one time. Doc says we shouldn' worry."
"Don't matter. You said you bled a bit. We're goin' and gettin' you checked out."
"I neva once said nah ta that," Ani assured him, walking over and putting a hand on his arm and making him stop to look at her. "All I'm sayin' is that it was a one time thing. 'Fore we know what we're lookin' at, jus' slow down a tiny bit and talk ta me."
"You really think we're letting that bastard get away after what happened?!" Daryl yelled, throwing the shirt he'd been getting ready to put on straight across the room. "Look what's goin' on with you now! I don't care if it was just once or just a little or whatever! You got a boot-shaped bruise on your back and a fat lip!"
Ani wanted to come back with a snarky remark that he had fattened her lip once upon a time, too, but knew that it wasn't the right time. Before they had gone to bed the night before, she had noticed that she had spotted a little and had told Daryl about it. It had only been a few small dots, but it was enough to scare Daryl to the point of having wanted to make the journey to Hilltop then and there. She'd only been able to keep herself calm by regularly double checking herself and could breathe a sigh of relief when there were no other signs that anything was wrong and it had only been the once. The doctor at the Sanctuary wasn't entirely sure if there was anything more serious going on and had simply told them to keep an eye out for more spotting and any cramping. There hadn't been any of that and only those few little droplets, which the doctor had told them that morning meant nothing was wrong and they didn't have to worry. Daryl, however, was adamant about going to the Hilltop to talk to Carson and getting another ultrasound to make sure Lou was safe. Ani had zero reason to argue and had actually readily agreed with him, which shocked him to the core. He had admitted he was expecting a fight because of how often she talked away her problems and made them seem less than they were. The thing was, it wasn't her that was actually in danger; if something was wrong with Lou, she would never forgive herself.
"I neva thought ya would," Ani told him. "But I don' know what Rick'll do ta Merle with how 'e's actin'. All 'peace, patience, and pixy dust' with 'im now. He saved Negan by lockin' 'im up for life. What's 'e goin' ta do with Merle?"
"Merle knows what he's doin'. He ain't gonna get caught. Hell, even if he does, he won't care. Better than leavin' that asshole alive to come back and hurt you some more."
"The two a ya can' kill every single person that hurts me."
"We sure as hell can try."
Ani laughed and ducked under his arms, wrapping hers around his waist and looking up at him, "Ya two are goin' ta be the death a me, ya know that?"
Daryl just looked down at her with a scowl on his face until she rested her head against his bare chest. He scoffed angrily, but still wrapped his arms around her and held her tight for a few minutes before smacking her hip lightly and telling her to finish getting ready. They both grabbed their shirts and pulled them on before their boots and Daryl tossed her pack at her. The sun was barely up when he pulled out of the courtyard with her holding onto him and laughing in his ear at the feel of the wind in her hair. Even if they were speeding down the road to get her checked out and make sure Lou was alright, he had to admit that it was a beautiful sound to hear. Merle had headed out the night before around midnight under the guise of going hunting with every intention of setting up a few traps he could 'conveniently forget about' along the path Rick would be taking to Alexandria. They were trying to establish hunting grounds, anyway; areas where the game was bountiful and there were signs of established trails, nests, and dens. Eugene had been quite careless when he told them what route Rick was planning on taking and even easier to scare into silence about their own plan when he managed to sus it out. He wasn't even supposed to tell Ani, but the woman was too smart for her own good and it was the first time he truly believed it.
"Open the gate!" Kal called from his perch at the lookout post. "It's Daryl and Ani!"
The minute the gate opened, Abraham and Sasha were right there with Beth and Maggie coming out of the house by the time they parked and disembarked the bike. Ani was worried about what Abraham was going to do considering Wade had picked a fight with the ginger every time he showed up at the Sanctuary to drop off goods. She wasn't the only one that had gotten a good punch landed to her jaw thanks to him and his supporters. While the fights hadn't lasted nearly as long as the one she'd found herself in, Abraham had gotten into more than one scrap with Wade. Ani had found it amusing that Wade seemed to think he could keep going up against Abraham when he'd been beaten down every time he tried. Hell, if it hadn't have been for how fast everything devolved when she had tried to break Wade and Jackson up, she could have stopped him easily. She had several times before with simple redirects, de-escalations, and holds he couldn't get out of no matter how hard he tried. It had been effective and had kept the peace until Jackson had tried to take the heat off her and, in doing so, created a situation perfect for everyone to go crazy. If Abraham had been there, he would have put damn near everyone he could have gotten his hands on down. The man would probably head out to help Merle with his mission if he had been there and if they didn't watch their words. Ani could only hope that Daryl wouldn't fly off the handle like he had back in their room before they left. She couldn't expect him to keep what happened to himself, but she could hope that he kept his cool and let him know that Merle was handling it already.
"Everything okay?" Maggie asked when she reached them.
"Got inta a little tussle," Ani answered.
"Are you okay?"
"She needs to see Carson," Daryl told her. "Wade's a fuckin' asshole."
"The hell'd he do?" Abraham asked.
"He started a fight with Jackson," Ani sighed. "I got caught in the middle."
"Caught in the fuckin' middle?!" Daryl yelled. "He punched you in the jaw and stomped on your back! Might be a problem with the baby!"
"We're 'ere 'cause I had a bit a spottin' last night. Nothin' else, but we wanted ta double check with Carson 'cause Doc don' know a shite ton 'bout pregnancy," Ani explained. "Doesn' think anythin's goin' ta happen since it was jus' the one time, but, well, 'ere we are. Betta ta be safe than sorry."
"You bet your ass it is," Abraham replied. "Don't tell me you let that skid mark stay alive," he shot at Daryl.
"Merle's on it."
"Are you sure you're okay?" Sasha asked Ani.
"My back hurts and I still get sick smellin' some shite, but I ain' goin' ta be faintin' or fallin' any time soon," she shrugged. "Can admit I'm still gettin' a bit dizzy if I stand up too fast, but I've been mitigatin' that easily 'nough. Been standin' up slowa and sittin' down more."
"That's good. Carson woke up not that long ago. I'll go let him know you're here," Beth said before heading back towards the house.
"Scared somethin' happened to the baby?" Maggie asked.
"Had a bit a spottin', but that's it. We're jus' 'ere ta be safe."
"That's a good idea. I've been getting weekly exams since Carson got back. The baby has been growing well, and the tear has repaired itself. Still don't know how I'm going to do this without Glenn."
"Ya got Beth, Sash, and Abe with ya. Jesus, too. Ya ain' goin' ta be alone."
"I know. I just wish he was here."
"We all do," Ani told her. "Where's Phia?"
"She went with Carl back to Alexandria for a couple days. I'll let her know you were here, though," Maggie told them.
"Wish she would a sent a message, but she's a big girl. She say when she's comin' back ta the Sanctuary?"
"She has a few more things she wants to learn from Carson for when the babies are born before she comes back. Thinks it'll be a few more weeks at least.
"Good. Maybe she can help Merle calm down," Daryl said, pulling Ani under his arm and walking with her up to the medical trailer as Carson reached it.
"You're a little early for a check up," he commented.
"I had a bit a spottin' 'cause I got caught up in a fight."
"Any cramping? Major bleeding? Any extra nausea or fatigue? Temperature changes?" he asked as he opened the door to the medical trailer.
"Nothin' more'n usual as far as the temperature changes. Get hot easy, get cold easy."
"Anything else?"
"Nah."
"How much did you bleed?"
"Only a few drops and only the once. Nothin' else."
"Shouldn't be anything serious, then," Carson told them, "but let's get an ultrasound just to be sure."
"Thanks."
The three of them walked into the trailer where Carson told her to sit on the bed while he pulled over the sonogram machine. Ani pulled her shirt up and pushed the waistband of her pants down a little so that the gel didn't get on them. They both were holding their breath when he started up the machine and placed the wand on her stomach, both letting out a sigh of relief as the sound of their baby's heartbeat filled the room. Carson pointed out everything and how Lou was growing right on track, if not ahead of schedule based on his size. He continued with a physical exam to check her vitals and asked her to remove her pants so he could check her cervix to make sure everything was alright on that front. Ani rightfully freaked out and Daryl had a lot of questions about it, but Carson assured them it was all regular procedure and was only for the safety of the baby, nothing more. She was still reluctant as she did what she asked to and turned her face towards Daryl with tears in her eyes. It felt so humiliating and wrong when he was checking her, although she was happy to hear that everything was normal on that front as well. She quickly put her pants back on and moved to sit in Daryl's lap feeling very insecure with herself at the moment and needing to make sure everything was alright. Even if Carson had said it was normal and what every pregnant woman had to go through during check ups, it still felt like she had been violated. Her childhood didn't help things any when it came to that front and the only person who had seen her like that had been Daryl.
"You're okay, baby girl," he whispered in her ear.
"Well, everything is alright as far as the baby is concerned," Carson spoke up. "You, on the other hand, are too close to pre-eclampsia than I would like."
"What does that mean?" Daryl asked.
"It means that her blood pressure is still too high for my liking and I'm worried about it putting pressure on the baby. There's a chance of preterm birth or placental abruption, even pre-term labor or needing a c-section if we can't get it under control as soon as possible. On top of that, it looks like you're becoming increasingly anemic. I have some iron pills I'll be sending with you, but I strongly suggest you stay off your feet as much as possible. Honestly, I think it is a combination of anemia and the stress that you've been under that is causing your blood pressure to stay higher than it should. A lot of women suffer anemia during pregnancy, though, so it's nothing too unusual. The baby is most likely taking the better part of what you can provide for both him and you, so your body is prioritizing the baby. I'm sure the iron pills will at least help to alleviate whatever issues are a direct cause from the anemia. I won't put you on full bedrest because activity can help lower blood pressure, but I must insist that you take a break from your work at the Sanctuary. You need to focus on yourself more than others."
"Rick wants me ta try ta help the people hurt the most by the Saviors," Ani told him.
"Well, Rick is just going to have to deal with it himself for the time being," Carson stated point blank. "You've done everything you can for now. Even before the dead started walking, a woman in your position would be put on bedrest and told to take maternity leave early."
"Yeah, I guess," she relented.
"Is there anything she can't do besides work?" Daryl asked, irritation obvious in his voice.
"No lifting. No standing for more than an hour at a time or walking for more than thirty minutes at a time," the doctor responded. "Keep activity to roughly three hours a day, minus going to the bathroom or getting food, getting dressed, things like that. It's fine to do your daily stretches so that your muscles don't cramp and it could be a part of the reason you haven't developed pre-eclampsia yet. Intercourse can help lower it as well, but try to refrain from anything too vigorous," he added, looking at Daryl.
"Are you sure?"
"Absolutely," Carson said. "Other than that, it looks like everything is on track with the pregnancy. The spotting was most likely caused from stress and being jostled around in the fight. Make sure to keep a lookout for any more spotting or cramping and if you have any concerns regarding the baby, come back here. Honestly, I'd suggest you stay here, but I know that Merle can't lead the Sanctuary by himself with his anger and Abraham is needed here. Daryl would have to be there and that would be more stressful on you. Instead, I'll come every couple weeks to check on you. I won't be able to perform an ultrasound, but there are a few other things I can do to make sure everything is on track."
"Sure that's ok?" Daryl once again voiced his concern.
"I don't see any reason why it shouldn't be. As long as she stays on partial bedrest and doesn't do too much throughout the day, I'd say everything will be alright."
"Thanks, doc," Ani told him, the two of them standing up as Carson went over to a cabinet.
"Here," he said as he held out a bottle. "Iron tablets. Take one a day with food to keep from having an upset stomach. It should help with your dizziness and could also help with your blood pressure. I should have sent some to the Sanctuary for you with the last shipment in an attempt to get it under control. For now, get some rest and stay off your feet as much as possible. Again, your stretches, short walks, no longer than thirty minutes long, only a few times a day."
"Alright. Thanks," Daryl said, pulling Ani out of the trailer with a scowl on his face.
She could tell he was fuming and was already getting anxious over what he was going to say about the entire thing. Would he blame her for what happened or how her blood pressure hadn't gone down, even though she had been doing what she could to get it under control? At the same time, she was worrying about what would happen if things got worse; what would happen to her or Lou if things didn't change? Carson was right that Daryl was needed at the Sanctuary since Merle was still too much of a wild card when it came to whether or not he would lash out. He might have gotten to the point that he wouldn't fight their core group, but that didn't mean he wasn't willing to throw a punch towards anyone else who so much as looked at him wrong. That had only gotten worse when they'd been sent to the Sanctuary and there was no way Jerry and Eugene would be able to keep him under control. They couldn't send Abraham to the Sanctuary because he would be just as bad, if not worse, than Merle when it came to the Saviors that caused problems. He had nothing against the workers or the Soldiers that had fallen in line and wouldn't do anything against them at all. The opposition, though, would be in potential danger to the extent of possibly being killed due to Abraham's more explosive outbursts. There was no one else, other than Rick himself, that could keep things together at the Sanctuary if it wasn't one of them. Ani knew that Daryl would prefer her to stay at the Hilltop so that Carson could keep a closer eye on her, but Carson was also right in the fact that that would only serve to stress her out more when he had to go back to the Sanctuary. She just hoped that he wouldn't try to push her to stay or sit there and blame her for everything that was happening when it really wasn't her fault.
"I'm sorry," she told him, looking at the ground as he pulled her along.
Daryl sighed and stopped, trying to control his anger so that he wouldn't start yelling at her or otherwise say something he would regret. It wasn't her fault that her health was being affected by the pregnancy to the extent that it was, but he had told her time and time again to stop doing so much. He'd told her that she was overdoing herself and that it wasn't helping her anxiety any by stretching herself thin being there for everyone but herself. Daryl had tried more than once to get her to talk more about how she was feeling mentally and take of herself as far as taking time for just her, but it all fell on deaf ears. She continued taking responsibility for everyone else's healing and recovery from what they'd been through without dealing with what happened with her. Both she and Lou could have died and she'd taken it easy for less time than he would have liked during that time just because they were at war. He thought she would be smart enough to take a break and slow down after everything was done and over with, but that had been wishful thinking on his part. Daryl wanted to yell at her, to blame her and tell her that she didn't really care about the baby with how she had been acting and how much she'd been working.
At the same time, though, he was blaming himself for backing off when she first voiced her desire to keep helping try to find equilibrium between the workers and soldiers at the Sanctuary. He was also upset at himself for not noticing the signs that her anemia had gotten as bad as it had when she had become lethargic and pale most days. She had been the same way over the winter when they were on the run and had forced herself to deal with it. He'd forced her to eat enough gizzards when they found the prison that she'd recovered relatively quickly, even more so when they'd gotten the food from the inmates. He should have been paying more attention to her overall health and not just how much she was doing physically by sight. He shouldn't have taken as much of a step back from keeping an eye on her and pulling her away when he felt like she'd had enough and was getting too stressed. Despite her protests, he should have carried her to their damn room and locked her in there instead of letting her talk him into letting her do what she 'could.' If she didn't listen to the doctor this time, though, he was going to do something he knew damn well she wouldn't like, but he didn't care anymore. Ani was going to sit on her ass and do nothing for anyone until the baby was born and then she could go back to whatever she felt she needed to do.
"Better prove it. Listen to the fuckin' doctor or I'll bring you back and leave your ass here," he warned her.
Ani stopped cold and stood frozen in her spot, "Ya would seriously do that?"
"If you don't listen, you bet your ass I will!" Daryl raised his voice to tell her while spinning on his heel. "I told you! Told you to stop worrying 'bout every little thing that gets sent your way! Other people can do shit for you! And don't use that damn excuse of wanting to help!"
"I do," Ani told him. "I get it, alright?! I'll stop doin' everythin' for everyone, but I ain' jus' goin' ta sit back and sit on my ass watchin' people needin' help!"
"The fuck you ain't! I don't care if I have to lock your ass in that room or leave your ass here, you're done!"
"You don' have the right ta make that choice for me!"
"I do when it ain't just your baby!" he roared back, thankful that there weren't too many people near them. "Ain't just you I'll lose! I ain't losin' the two of you 'cause you're bein' a stubborn little bitch that can't listen to anyone but herself! You could've died once already! I ain't losin' anythin' else thanks to them assholes! I ain't fuckin' losin' you!"
Ani stopped and stared at him when he said that, realization dawning on her for the first time just how scared he was about the entire situation. She'd been taking it with a grain of salt in comparison with him by acting like it wasn't that big of a deal and like she wasn't worried. She was, she just had been minimizing the danger she was in by thinking it was just the stress that she had been under between trying to do therapy to the others and help get things settled at the Sanctuary. Now she realized that she had been lying to herself in an attempt to make herself feel better about not giving up working. She hated being bored, and the more she sat, the more bored she'd gotten and the less she wanted to just stay still. But she had been selfish at the expense of her husband and potentially their baby and now she was paying the price for her poor choices up until then. She really was stupid enough to think it had been all about controlling her and all about trying to make her see things his way. Ani felt heartbroken over the fact that she had been a complete idiot and made Daryl go through more than he should have and had even fought with him It hadn't been about that at all and she couldn't believe it had taken her so long to notice it. She had thought he was angry, thought he was just being all macho and domineering and thinking that he could act like she couldn't take care of herself. All she could do was start crying and apologizing over and over again for how stupid she had been and how she'd completely misunderstood him and had been too selfish to listen.
"You better fuckin' prove it and start taking care of yourself for once," Daryl told her harshly.
"I will," she promised. "I'm so sorry. I'm sorry."
Daryl pulled her into him even though he was angry at her, wrapping his arms around her as she repeated herself, "Stop. Just stop. Ain't nothin' gonna change what's happened. Just don't make anythin' else happen. I'm sick of this shit."
"Why didn' ya jus' say ya were scared? Why didn' ya jus' be plain with me?"
"Always been."
"Yeah, me too, but that don' mean I knew it was somethin' this bad."
He sighed, trying to figure out when it'd gotten so out of hand himself, "After the Sanctuary...what Negan did...Dwight said...And all the shit with the war. Been so damn angry. Don't think I really knew."
"I didn' even really think a bein' scared or a ya bein'. I was so stupid. I'm sorry."
"Just sit your on ass and let me and Merle take care of you. Quit bein' stupid. And actin' like you know everything just because you know some shit. Quit carin' about every other goddamn person on the face of the planet and take care of yourself for once."
~x~
Daryl woke up two weeks after he'd taken Ani to the Hilltop and she'd been told to keep off her feet as much as possible. She'd actually taken the doctor's words seriously and had been very careful about how much she'd been doing around the Sanctuary. A few people had gone to talk to her and she did help them when they did so, but she was no longer actively seeking out the people who she had been helping before. He could see the difference in her already and was more than content with how much she seemed to have changed. She was no longer nearly as emotional as she had been up to that point in the pregnancy. Her nightmares, while still frequent, had begun to take less of a toll on her and she was able to get more sleep. As far as sleep went, she had been taking naps more frequently than she had even when they'd gotten to the Sanctuary thanks to drinking chamomile tea. She had been keeping a canteen full of chamomile flower and peppermint leaf tea in order to keep her nausea at bay and hopefully lower her blood pressure. Daryl assumed her iron was getting better considering she had color back in her face and was able to stand up without having to stop for a moment to gain her balance. It had taken her an entire week to stop being upset about being brought her food and Daryl keeping her under his arm until he sat her down. She put up with it, though, and had let him take control of the situation and make her keep to Carson's orders. Carson had been out once already and was expected to come sometime that afternoon to bring more medicine and check on Ani.
Rick had decided to come back to the Sanctuary after Merle had dealt with Wade, bringing his brother back and basically putting him under house arrest. He couldn't prove that Merle had actually wanted the man to die, but he certainly knew that he had instigated Wade into running after him. Whether or not he knew the pack of walkers was close by was to be debated, but when he learned that Ani was no longer able to take a leadership role, he had decided to stay. The last two weeks had led to an almost complete take over and deterioration of the opposition to Rick's way of doing things. Many had been warned that there were options as far as what they wanted to do; they could work at the Sanctuary and help build a better future or they could take their chances on the road, far away from the communities with nothing but knives to keep themselves safe. While he and Ani had used the same threats, they didn't carry the same weight as a man who had benevolently saved a man who got so many killed. Rick's positive image was accepted much more than the words of those who still wished Negan dead and hated the thought of the Saviors. There were still some who conspired to keep the 'Negan' mentality alive, but they were less obvious about it and resorted to propaganda. Even then, though, Rick was able to talk to the community and bring hope into the lives of many who had given it up due to how long they had lived in fear.
Daryl hated to be thankful to Rick for anything to do with the Sanctuary, he couldn't help but be happy that things had settled down so that both he and Ani could focus on the pregnancy. He still had his own duties and role to fill as far as leading and planning went, making sure everything was running as smoothly as he could without Rick's help now. He was planning on leaving within the next week to go back to Alexandria permanently and finish helping Michonne and Carl fix it up. Sophia had been traveling back and forth since she'd found out they'd made the trip to the Hilltop and that had helped Merle level out. It also helped that Ani had told him to escort her, essentially making it to where he wasn't at the Sanctuary most days. He was also keeping busy between that and being the main hunter thanks to Ani's condition and Daryl refusing to leave the Sanctuary without her. Ani had made him stay away from the place the entirety of the last week after he had berated her when he found out what Carson had said. Even Daryl had been taken aback and gotten in his brother's face about some of the things Merle had said about her. He had let him go on at first because he had said a lot of things Daryl agreed with himself, but the minute he'd started making accusations that had Ani burst literally burst into tears and run away, he'd punched him in the face. There were just some things a person didn't tell a pregnant woman and especially not in front of the father. Rick had agreed with her position once she told him Merle would be acting as an escort for the people traveling back and forth from the Sanctuary regardless of reason and Abraham had joined him. The two of them kept the roads from the Sanctuary to the Hilltop cleared and made sure any caravan got to their destination without incident. It had been two months since the war ended already and it was only now that things had become somewhat peaceful and functional.
Ani turned in his arms, draped one of hers over his stomach and a leg over his while lightly giving him a kiss on his bicep even though she was still sleeping. He looked down at her and smiled softly as she hummed and snuggled in closer to him with her own smile on her face, feeling her growing belly pressed against his arm. They had made a lot more progress as far as taking care of each others emotional needs as well with Ani trying to be more open to his concerns and Daryl trying to be more open about his emotions in general. He wasn't good at it, though, and she'd had to badger him at times, but she had started paying more attention to his subtle changes. She had apologized a lot the last couple of weeks and admitted that she had only been paying attention to her own wants and needs. Neither of them had been overly considerate of the other in the last couple of months without explosive fights or tears on her end. It had calmed down with Rick being there the last couple of weeks and they had been able to take care of nothing but themselves for the first couple days of his stay, remaining in their room for the first three days without really leaving. Ani had commented on how it was like when she'd gotten her scar from Tom and Ellie, just better because she wasn't shut down. The first day they had just laid in bed all day cuddling while Daryl read from a new book from Poe Sophia had found at the Hilltop. It had felt a bit weird to both of them, but it was also nice to just stay next to each other and slow down for once. He had made it a point to spend time with her every day just laying on the bed with an arm around her, reading from a book until she fell asleep and he turned out the light to sleep himself. Ani being put on partial bedrest ended up being one of the best things for their relationship that had happened since they told each other everything that had happened during their detainment.
He watched as her eyes started to flicker open for her to squeeze them shut before snorting and telling her, "Mornin'."
"Hmm...mornin'," she sleepily replied. "I love ya."
"Love you, too. Get some sleep?"
"Gettin' betta. Ya?"
"Well enough," he told her. "Got some work to do before Carson gets here."
"Yeah, I know," Ani sighed, sitting up and stretching. "It alright if I spend some time on the roof taday afta lookin' ova the logs? Figya'd I could do some tai-chi. I can go for five min and then stop for a while. If it's not supa cold out, looks like it's goin' ta be a sunny day. It'd be nice ta soak up the sun a little bit. Could join me when ya done," she suggested before smiling and giggling. "Could give it anotha go."
"Hell no," Daryl immediately said, remembering how he'd stumbled through it and felt like a fool the entire time. "Don't know how you do it."
"When I asked Carson, 'e said it's betta than my stretch routine. Subtle, slow movements, can' ova stretch, won' lose my breath so easy."
"Whatever. Don't gotta ask, you know that, right?"
"Yeah, but I feel gui-"
"Stop. Just stop already," he said with a sigh. "Things are changin' and we're gettin' through it all. You're listening to the doctor. Can't ask for more than that."
"Still...I really am sorry."
"I know."
Daryl knew she was about to apologize again and carefully rolled over to lay half on top of her and shut her up with a kiss. Ani melted into it and gripped his bicep while her other hand slithered up his chest and gripped into his hair. They didn't do much more than have a heavy make out session before a knock on the door interrupted them. He was supposed to help with boarding up the windows and reinforcing some of the larger doors at the ground level of the Sanctuary. The sun was already up and and it was getting really cold at night because of how many windows there were, even if they had replaced all the glass and repaired the hole in the wall. There was only so much heat they could generate with the smelter and the barrels had to be placed strategically in order to at least fight off the biting cold that was sure to set in during winter. Ani had been working on where to place them using drawn maps of the factory floors with some of the others, mostly a woman named Ashley and a man named Mark. Ashley had been a heating technician and could help figure out the right spacing for the barrels while Mark had been homeless for a long time and so knew all kinds of ways to stay warm. Daryl was also working with Mark and a few other old construction workers to get the walls and windows properly ready for the cold season. It was slow progress as far as battening down the hatches went, but Rick being there to get things going in the right direction helped make it easier to start on the project.
"Ya betta get goin'," Ani told him, giving him another small kiss.
"Yeah. Come get me when Carson gets here."
"If I don' come myself, I'll send Arat or Jerry."
"You better," he said, kissing her again.
"I will."4
