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"Has anythin' felt off to you?" Maggie asked Ani as they were working on comparing inventory records between the settlements.

"Wha'do'ya mean?"

"Beth and the others are almost constantly talkin' 'bout fruit. It's ridiculous how often they're talkin' 'bout apples and think I haven't noticed."

"Ya know, everyone's been a little squirrely 'round me at the Sanctuary. Well, everyone important. Called D out on it last night, but, well, 'e deflected..." Ani said with a blush and shy smile. "Kinda hard ta ask questions when 'e's so damn good at distractin' me. Not that I mind. Kind a feel like I'm always switched on."

Maggie laughed, "So I've been told."

"What?!"

"You don't hide it when you drag Daryl off, apparently."

Ani paused for a moment before replying, "It ain' like I'm rippin' 'is clothes off in the middle a the halls! I jus'...He'll do things and it'll jus'...Gods, it's not my fault!"

Maggie laughed again, "No, I understand. I felt the same way Sophia does about you and Daryl about my Dad and Annette when she was pregnant with Beth. Between that and the puking, it wasn't a fun house to be in."

"How've ya been? Are ya doin' okay? Well, as okay as ya can be considarin' everythin'."

"I'm gettin' there. It's been hard. Really hard. I miss Glenn so much, but I can't dwell on that."

"Yeah, I heard. Ya the head a the Hilltop now by majority vote. Pretty cool a ya ta have democracy and give the people a choice. We didn' get ta have one," Ani told her.

"I know," Maggie said. "After everythin' you went through there, everythin' they did to Daryl and made you do, and Rick sends the two of you there."

"Ya know they wanted us ta take Negan's room? And then they offa'd us the room they'd shoved me inta! I don' know what the fuck any a 'em were thinkin'. How's Simon been?"

"He's..." Maggie sighed and looked over at her. "You were right to send 'im here. He's been a lot of help, knows a little about a lot of things. He's out on a scavenging trip right now. Went about thirty miles to a stash he said he knew of from an old colony, not one the Saviors had control of but knew about. It was too far out for them to bother with it, especially since it wasn't all that big. It fell from a horde about a month before the war started. Figured there might be somethin' there we could use over here."

"Let's hope 'e gets back 'fore the freeze and snow gets too bad."

"He should. He's headed back as of this mornin'," she said. "I'm still not thrilled about it, but he's definitely helped out a lot. 'Sides, it's better than being in Alexandria. Better than bein' near him."

"I tried once," Ani admitted. "I tried ta go ta Alexandria ta talk ta people, but I couldn' bring myself ta go through the gate. There's a church jus' outside the walls. I talked ta people there."

"I can imagine the anxie-"

"It ain' that! I ain' fuckin' anxious or stressed or anythin' like that! I'm pissed off beyond all fuckin' recognition! If I had gone through those damn gates, not a single damn person could a stopped me from fuckin' killin' that bastard! For ya. For Glenn. For what 'e did ta Daryl. What 'e made me do. Believin' and takin' in them assholes."

"I still can't believe what they wanted to do. Tryin' to make you get rid of your baby. I hated my daddy when he remarried, but Jenette...she loved me and made me see it after a while. I could never imagine my own family wanting me to lose my baby."

"Yeah, well, things might a been differen' if ya daddy wasn' ya daddy but ya uncle instead. And then ya get blamed for it all even though none a it was ya fault. A lifetime a pain, anga, and hatred. All 'cause someone else made a choice I had nothin' ta do with," Ani said, spacing out as she spoke. "Now that it's all said and done," she sighed, "I'm conflicted."

"It can't be easy to learn the truth like that."

"Nah, it wasn'. And ya know the fucked up 'bout it all?"

"Hmm?"

"I undastand. I undastand why they did what they did, even though it wasn' a good thing, wasn' right. I undastand why. Undastand their anga and sadness and why they thought a me as a burden. I get it all and, well, ya know what happens when I undastand somethin'. It's so much worse this time 'cause I feel like I should still be angry, should still be hurt, but I ain'. I'm jus' sad. Sad that so much was taken from me, 'cludin' my real fatha that I neva got ta meet and neva will now. I ain' eva goin' ta treat Lou like they treated me, though. I ain' eva goin' ta let 'im be weak, but I can mold 'im like clay, not chisel at 'im like rock. Moldin' clay...every piece ya make will be it's own. Nah matta how good ya are, there will be little diffarences; little unique traits that will always make each piece its own. And this is a child we're talkin' 'bout. I can only mold 'im so much 'fore 'e takes ova 'is own design. And I can' wait ta see what that looks like."

"What about Daryl?"

Ani gave her a look that screamed 'duh' before bursting out laughing, "Ya think 'e ain' goin' ta be there helpin'? Ya eva see the movie Ghost?"

"With Patrick Swazey?"

"That's the one. Sometimes 'e'll be the one standin' behind me, guidin' my hands, sometimes it'll be the otha way 'round, but most a the time, both our hands will be in control."

"You plannin' on acceptin' any help from the others?"

"What othas? If it ain' Merle or Phia, I don' think even Daryl would feel ovaly comfortable with anyone else. At least, not at first. I don' know. Laura and Arat, a few a the othas, they seem nice 'nough, but nice 'nough don' count when it comes ta babies. Nice 'nough could become mean in a heartbeat. I ain' riskin' it. Not right away."

"I can understand that. If I was somewhere I didn't want to be, I don't think I would feel very comfortable with my baby being out of my sight."

"I don' know what the fuck Rick was thinkin'. Like, I get it in theory; takin' the people they treated like shite and puttin' 'em in charge ta show things can work out, but they ain'. It took Rick ta get everythin' inta orda and get the people ta fall in line 'hind D and Merle, even with Eugene there," Ani told her. "Now, they pass out ordas as needed and I jus' deal with inventory and minor issues. I don' even really want ta do that much. I don' know why that place was kept up and runnin'. We jus' got so much ta do and so little that can be done at the Sanctuary. We'll have more a a chance ta somewhere else, like at the outposts. The satellite outpost has a damn good field we could use ta grow crops ta be a bit more self-sustained. The chemical plant has a ton, too. We could make new colonies at jus' those places alone. And they're all still in the vicinity a the Hilltop, Kingdom, and Alexandria. We could make things a them, but, nah, the Sanctuary is already up and runnin' completely so we need ta stay there," she said sarcastically. "It's ridiculous. There ain' a single gods damned way we can make it work there. Even with the raised beds, the chance a makin' anythin' that can sustain the numba a people there...there's a reason that bastard did what 'e did. He knew 'e set up shop somewhere 'e couldn' grow shite, knew 'e couldn' keep up with it. There was absolutely nothin' whatsoeva that 'e could get ta grow there that would be 'nough ta feed everyone. That's why 'e was takin' from everywhere else, though, like I told 'im, and then Rick; we could offa services ta get food ratha than jus' expectin' the communities ta support the Saviors, still. And now, Daryl and I are s'pposed ta make somethin' out a it when there wasn' shite in it ta begin with."

"Rick doesn't see the whole picture like we do. We tried tellin' him when he first suggested everythin'."

"I know. But 'e has this vision a everythin' bein' hunky dory when the reality a the situation is that there are only so many a the Saviors that anyone is even willin' ta interact with. A lot a our people are still tryin' ta recova while Rick's tryin' ta get us all ta play big happy family. We ain', though. And we neva fuckin' will be. Not when ya got workas that sing Rick's praises for puttin' an end ta the war and soldias that sit there and want Negan back. The numbas wantin' 'im back might be goin' down, but I doubt they'll eva disappear. Not when the Sanctuary can' take care a itself."

"What are you gonna do about it?"

"Ain' nothin' I can do nah more. I've talked ta everyone I can, helped people ovacome their shite as much as I could. I done every last little damn thing I can even think a doin' ta repair bridges. Ain' nothin' else I can do. Sometimes, healin' can' be forced or even take place. Do ya think ya'd eva be able ta get ova what Negan did ta Glenn?"

"No. Never," Maggie told her with conviction. "I will never let go of what he did. I'll never forgive him, either."

"If ya can' forgive 'im, do ya really expect the vast majority a the colonies can forgive the Saviors?"

"No, I suppose not. What are you gonna do?"

"Keep cookin' this baby and then kill Daryl for gettin' me pregnant durin' the birth," Ani joked, making both women laugh. "I jus' want ta enjoy bein' a motha as much as I can when the two a us have ta deal with the Sanctuary. What 'bout ya? Are ya ready ta be a motha and a leada?"

"I don't know. I won't until I start doin' it. I hope I can, though."

"I believe in ya. Ya pick out a name?"

"Not yet. I haven't even really thought about it."

"Ya goin' ta have ta think 'bout it soon. Only got a few months left."

"Look who's talkin'. You only got a couple months left before the baby is born."

"I know. I can' wait. This pregnancy sucks like crazy, but I can' wait ta hold 'im and see Daryl holdin' 'im."

"I haven't minded the pregnancy. It's been pretty easy. The worst is my cravings. I had a bit of morning sickness in the first few months, but that was it."

Ani groaned, "Lucky for ya. I was fine, 'til I wasn'. Like, my nose was supa sensitive and I wanted squirrel all the time, but I didn' start gettin' sick, like, really sick 'til jus' 'fore we found out. And then it was like a fuckin' flip switched and all a sudden I had every single problem I eva heard 'bout from pregnant ladies. Pukin' from tryin' ta eat somethin' I'd like. Smells makin' me sick. Aches, pains, more nightmares than I care ta admit. Peein' five fuckin' times in five fuckin' minutes. Honestly, I hate bein' pregnant. I hate all these hormones makin' me cry at the stupidest thing. I cried for thirty minutes yestaday ova an egg. An egg."

"What happened?"

"Oh, I dropped an egg on the floor and it broke. Jus' a stupid accident that had me cryin' foreva. And D...Gods, that man has become so fuckin' patient with me and all this shite. Cleaned up the egg and then made me feel betta 'bout droppin' it. Stayed with me 'til I fell asleep."

"Beth has done that a couple times for me. Calmed me down when I was overly emotional. I wish Glenn was here," Maggie sniffled, causing Ani to give her a side hug. "It's not fair. I'm sorry, but it's not fair," she cried, finally breaking down from hearing about Ani and Daryl's relationship.

"I know how ya feel, I do," Ani told her. "When I found out ya were pregnant, 'fore I found out I was, I was so upset. So angry and jealous, but happy for the two a ya and guilty for feelin' that way."

"Glenn should be here. He should be with me and our son. We were so looking forward to being a family, to being parents. We were makin' plans for a nursery. Tryin' to figure out names. We were goin' between Hershel and Michael, his dad. We had names picked out for if we were gonna have a girl. We had so many things we were gonna do, we were gonna try. So many plans. And Negan destroyed all of it. He made me a widow, my son fatherless. It's not fair that everythin' was taken from me and the only thing that happened with him is that he lost his power. Life in prison," she spat. "It's not enough. It's not good enough. He should be dead. Your knife should've landed like it was supposed to. He should be dead!"

"I know, hunny. I know," Ani assured while rubbing her back. "Ya've lost so much and in only a couple years. We've all lost stuff, but ya've lost the most. I'm so sorry for everythin', talkin' 'bout D and everythin'. I should a been more careful with my words."

"It's not your fault. It's really not. You and Daryl...you two need each other. That was clear since the day you walked out of the woods and onto our farm with him. Glenn is the only man I ever loved, the only one I will ever love. But that doesn't mean that you and Daryl have to walk on eggshells. I'm happy you have him."

"Still, I wish ya had 'im and ya could have the same support I do. It ain' fuckin' fair what happened ta ya."

"I have our son to remember him by. That has to be enough from now on. It has to be."

The two fell silent for a while as they looked over the papers and took note of the few discrepancies that they found. It didn't look like it was anything major, though; some food here, a blanket or two there, some of the medical supplies. There were no missing weapons, though, so Ani said it wasn't that big of a deal because it was probably one of the families that just left. There had been several from the Sanctuary that had done that, though not in a few weeks, not since Rick had come in and get everything set up. Ani was still sore about that and the fact that he had decided to put them in charge and then came in and judged them for not having it under control within just a few weeks. Five people alone could not have made that place fall in line with everything that had happened, both before and after Negan had taken over. The Sanctuary had already been up and running and having problems long before he had come around and it was only because Negan had started raiding other communities that the place had stayed strong for so long. They discussed all of it until they were done going through every single inventory, ignoring the bangs from above them, only finding those small discrepancies that really didn't matter in the larger scheme of things.

"Hey, Ani, Maggie?" Carl's voice rang out from behind them. "We need you upstairs. Merle and Abraham accidentally knocked one of the shelves over."

"That explains the bangs," Ani said, both of them leaving to follow Carl upstairs.

As soon as they got up the stairs, which took a little bit because Ani had to stop halfway up the stairs for a breather, they were both met with all of the people from their original group at Alexandria and a bunch of the friends they had made from the other communities. There were blue streamers everywhere; where they had managed to find them and all the other 'baby boy' decorations, Ani couldn't even fathom. Daryl, Merle, and Sophia were standing by one table piled with things while Beth, Sasha, and Abraham were standing by another. Everyone had set up a small buffet-style snack table with various fruits, vegetables, roasted meats, breads, jams, and a cobbler from the Kingdom. It was more than Ani could handle and she broke down crying as soon as everyone yelled 'surprise!' Maggie was laughing and hugging everyone with tears in her eyes while Daryl wrapped his arms around Ani and asked her if she was okay with how bad she was crying. Through her sobs, she managed to get out that she didn't know how to deal with the outpouring of love Lou was receiving before he was even born. It was so touching and such a nice surprise and the fact that she was overly emotional just made her breakdown. So many people started chuckling at that and came up to give her a side hug or a pat on the back or shoulder until she calmed down and was able to fully come into the room.

"Is this what you guys were hidin' from us?" Maggie asked.

"Yeah," Beth responded. "We wanted to do somethin' nice and it's not like you guys have a lot of clothes or stuff for the babies."

"Ya didn' have ta do this," Ani stated, still feeling overwhelmed by it all.

"We wanted to," Sophia told her.

"Just sit your ass down and quit flappin' your gab," Abraham said.

Everyone chuckled at that and Daryl pulled Ani over to a chair and had her sit down before the others started coming around to talk to her. Some of them started chatting while others went to grab themselves some refreshments and the kids started telling Maggie and Ani how they'd managed to pull it off. Ani was very impressed and started praising Sophia, Carl, and Beth for their ingenuity and managing to pull off the surprise without living in the same community. Daryl walked back over and handed her a plate with strawberry jam on bread, some roasted squirrel and raccoon, and some of the veggies and fruits they still managed to have. He put a glass of milk down next to her that she immediately picked up and took a long draw off of before both moaning and sighing when she put it back down. Everyone near her laughed, but Ani really didn't care because it had been so long since she'd actually been able to have the drink. It was a really nice time in which all of them caught up on what was personally going on rather than what was happening with the communities. So many things were happening and it was great to hear how Rick and Michonne were essentially married now that the war was over. Carol and Ezekiel were slowly building their relationship, as well, and Henry was following their words as if they were law. Sasha and Abraham had had a pregnancy scare and had been talking about whether or not they really wanted to have kids. Abraham had been a father once already, but Sasha had never even been in a relationship that had lasted longer than a couple years. The thought of having children was still a foreign idea for her since she had never thought about it before Abraham brought it up and she was honestly thinking about it.

"It might be nice," Sasha said. "Though, if I cry as much as you do, I might go crazy."

"Ya think I ain' goin' crazy?!" Ani replied, the entire room erupting with laughter.

"Let's start openin' the gifts," Beth suggested.

Another round of chuckles filtered through the room as Sasha and Sophia brought over the first brown-paper wrapped gifts to the two women. Maggie received a very nice blanket, red in color and very plush, while Ani was given a warm-looking onesie in light blue. One by one, they opened the presents and were given a lot of clothes for the babies as well as snacks for them. Ani had immediately tore into the jerky Sophia had made for her and mentioned how delicious it was and that she enjoyed the hint of maple. They both got jams and dried fruit along with some breads, eggs, and other kinds snacks along with some more comfortable clothes for after birth. It was a surprise to everyone when the kids also brought out a gift basket for Aaron that had a bunch of snacks in it as well as a couple of stuffed animals for Gracie. They told him that they didn't want to leave him out when he was also a new dad after adopting the baby and that he deserved a little something, too. While it wasn't as much as Ani and Maggie got, it still made Aaron cry in gratitude while Merle and Abraham started a cheering session. Everyone ate more and talked about nothing important until Ani started yawning and Maggie herself had nodded off without anyone noticing. They decided to call it a wrap and Abraham and Sasha started taking Maggie's gifts to her room while Merle, Daryl, and Sophia took Ani's to the car they'd used to get there. Ani stayed in the room talking to the ones left while Beth gently woke Maggie up and got her to go to bed for a while. By the time they ended the party and were ready to head out, Ani was starting to nod off and Daryl carried her down to the car amidst her protests that she could walk.

"Thank ya for settin' that up," Ani told Sophia. "I didn' even think 'bout nothin' like that, though I wish ya would a told me so I could a gotten or made somethin' for Maggie and Aaron."

"We didn't want you to know anythin'," the girl answered. "If we said somethin' about it, you would've figured out that we were doin' one for you, too."

"Prolly," she agreed. "Ya know ya didn' have ta do anythin' for me."

"Shut up," Daryl told her.

Ani didn't say anything else and just enjoyed sitting next to her husband as Merle drove back to the Sanctuary. She didn't make it all the way there before she had fallen asleep against his shoulder and the other three occupants of the car talked quietly. They joked about how they had managed to pull one off on Ani and how they had been able to get so many things for the women. Maggie had been super excited for the apple chips she'd received and had eaten a lot of them during the party where Ani had eaten a decent amount of her jerky, too. Sophia was super excited about the fact that she had been able to make it right when she hadn't even been sure if she had the right spices. Daryl had tried some, too, though he'd snuck his taste in when he'd taken everything to the car to avoid another food fiasco. Everyone had shared a laugh when Ani had warned Abraham not to even think about touching her food and he'd been forced to explain his mess up with the pickle. Literally every woman in the room had told him how stupid he had been for taking a pregnant lady's snacks right in front of her and then telling her to get over it. It was the whole reason Daryl had decided to try the jerky outside of her eyesight and told Sophia and Merle after Ani had fallen asleep. Sophia and Merle talked to each other about a hunting trip they were planning as Daryl fell silent and listened. It only took another twenty minutes before they were pulling into the Sanctuary's courtyard and he had to gently shake Ani awake.

"Hmm?" she asked.

"We're home, baby girl."

"Tired."

"I know. Let's get you up to bed, huh?"

"Mmm," Ani said, letting him pull her from the car, though blocking him when she saw him going to pick her up. "Ya are not carryin' me this time."

Daryl made a face at her, but acquiesced nonetheless and pulled her under his arm, "You know I don't mind carryin' you, right?"

"I know. I jus'...I'm still gettin' used ta all this, ya know? I mean, we been takin' care a each otha for a long while, but...it's different. How ya been takin' care a me the last few weeks. The massages, bringin' me all my food, carryin' me everywhere. It's jus' a lot and then afta the baby showa," she tried to explain, starting to sniffle a bit. "I don' deserve all a this."

"Stop," he told her, making her stop in the middle of the hall, thankful it was night and most people were already in bed so they wouldn't be spied on. "You think you don't deserve it? Bullshit. I'm gonna keep doin' what I'm doin' and there ain't shit you can do about it. You got my baby in your belly and he's gonna be here soon. I'm gonna take care of you. Gonna take care of him. And you're just gonna have to deal with it."

"Ya makin' me feel like I'm a damsel in distress."

"That such a bad thing? Been takin' care of everyone else. 'Bout damn time you took time off and just concentrated on you."

"This 'bout me doin' shite again? Me wantin' ta fuckin' help out?!" she said, getting angry only for Daryl to scoff and look down at her.

"Ain't that," he assured her and calmed her down. "Just think it's about damn time you think of you first. Only got so long left 'fore Lou gets here. Know you ain't gonna stop doin' what you're doin', but you let me take care of you, you hear?"

Ani just stared at him for a minute before nodding and looking down, "Sorry. It was such a sore spot for so long. I shouldn' a jumped ta conclusions. Thank ya for everythin'."

"C'mon. Let's get you to bed," was all he said, once again pulling her under his arm

They walked down the hall and entered their room, Ani yawning and stretching as she headed straight towards the bed. She didn't even bother trying to take her shoes off because she could barely bend down far enough to put her pants on. Daryl walked over and sat down himself, pulling her legs up onto his lap and undid the laces before pulling them off. He threw them across the room before beginning to massage her calves one at a time making her sigh out a moan. While he really did make her feel like a damsel in distress, understanding why he did and knowing that the expectation wasn't for her to stop working the little she was made it to where she could easily relax and enjoy his ministrations. If he wanted to take care of her, there was no reason she couldn't let him when soon enough she was going to be pushing a watermelon out of her body while in excruciating pain because of him. Honestly, the closer she got to the due date, the more she became scared about it all anyway, especially with what happened to Lori. She had told Daryl about it because it had started taking precedence in the nightmares she was having after she had started beating her parents' asses in her dreams. Ani had snapped in her dreams once when they were trying to get into the house she had been in in her dream and literally left them in a bloody pulp before she started and awoke. The dreams had changed after that and Daryl was actually really happy about the fact that she wasn't plagued by 'those bastards' anymore.

He put her legs on the bed and undid his own shoes, standing up and taking his shirt off, looking back at Ani staring at him, "What?"

"Ya know what."

"Thought you were tired."

"I was, but then ya took ya shirt off."