Red River Blue

Chapter 93

Carol took a sip of wine, smiling as River adjusted the small crown of flowers on her head. The other woman's hands lifted off, pressing down on the hard swell of her stomach. Carol heard River let out a small hiss of pain and she spun in her chair, looking at her with concern. River was obviously having a strong contraction. And it wasn't the first one. She had to sit down and hold her stomach twice while she was trying to get her dress on.

"Are you sure you don't need to go to the medical bay?," Carol asked. "I think it was only a few minutes since the last one." River waved her off.

"I'm fine," she argued. "I'm not gonna let this baby ruin yer day." Maggie snorted out a laugh as she reached into the jar of pickles she had resting on her stomach. If they could get through this wedding without either her or River going into labor it was going to be a miracle. And if one of them did, Maggie figured it was mostly Daryl's fault anyway. For deciding with whatever unexplainable Daryl reasoning he used, that the best day to get married was on the day of the full moon.

"Can I have wine?," Wren asked, looking hopefully at the glass in Carol's hand. River nodded.

"Half a glass only. And you have to sip it," she told the girl. Carol poured the girl a small glass and tried not to laugh when Wren wrinkled up her nose at the bitter taste of it.

Wren plopped down at Carol's feet, running her hands over the soft lace material of her dress. A few minutes later, Mika joined her. Her hair was pinned up on top of her head in curls, with a few of the same flowers that were twined into a headband on Carol's head pinned into it.

"This is the prettiest dress I've ever seen," Mika gushed, looking up at Carol with an expression of pure awe. "Can you save it for me so I can wear it when I get married?" Carol nodded, leaning down to adjust a stray curl of Mika's hair. How excited Wren and Mika were about the wedding was over the top adorable. Carol's dress was plain except for the bits of lace detailing. And the style of it was modest. It wasn't really the type of princess dress that Carol thought a young girl might dream of wearing someday.

"Did you wear a dress like this when you got married to daddy?," Wren asked, glancing at her mother. River shook her head and leaned back on the couch, rubbing her hands over her stomach.

"The first time I just wore blue jeans. We were in a hurry 'cause yer dad was about to ship out fer active duty. The second time, I wore a red dress," River said. Not only did she wear a red dress. She wore a short, tight, mostly sheer red dress that barely covered her nipples. The result of that night was sitting on the floor near Carol's feet, forcing down the half glass of wine she spent most of the morning begging for.

The conversation came to an abrupt halt when an unexpected guest suddenly appeared in the doorway. Harley looked freshly scrubbed, her hair still damp from her shower. She was wearing a large oversized hoodie over her clothes. Beth got up first, rushing at her friend with unshed tears already forming in her eyes.

"Don't get up," Harley told her mother, holding up her hand to keep the woman back. Harley crossed the room and bent forward, wrapping her arms around River and letting the woman squeeze her nearly to death. Wren came at her next, hugging her just as tight.

"I knew you would come back in time for the wedding," Wren gushed. Harley looked around the room. Her dad didn't mention anything about a wedding. But since Carol was dressed in a white and had pinned into her hair, it wasn't hard to guess whose wedding it was. And she realized she was glad she didn't miss it. If anyone deserved to get his happy ending, it was her Uncle Daryl.

"I'm not wearing a dress," Harley warned the small crowd, raising her eyebrow at Carol to see if the woman was going to object to her casual attire.

"You can wear whatever you want," Carol assured her, stepping in to get a hug of her own on her wayward niece. "I'm just glad you're back." Harley hugged her back, but Carol noticed the girl was holding her body in an awkward way, leaning forward when she hugged her so that their bodies didn't touch. Before she could give Harley's behavior any more thought, Deanna appeared in the doorway to let them know it was time.

Daryl forced himself to breath slowly. His nerves were shot. Not only did his idiot brother disappear for most of the morning with no explanation. It seemed everything else that could go wrong was determined to go wrong. Glenn somehow managed to drop the rings down the bathroom sink. Daryl had to take the sink apart to get them back. Carl sprained his ankle and was hobbling around with a pair of crutches. He was refusing to say how he twisted his ankle. Which probably meant he and Wren were climbing in and out of each other's bedroom windows again. And to top that off, while they were setting up the food tables for the wedding there was another disaster. Tyreese tripped and fell into the middle tent pole, bending it nearly in half and sending the entire giant white tent crashing down and nearly smothering everyone.

"Ready?," Merle asked, bumping his shoulder into Daryl's and gesturing towards the far end of the street. All the girls were slowly filing out of the house. Daryl smiled when he saw that Harley was with them. The moment he saw her, he knew where Merle disappeared to. He must have gone and rousted Harley out of her campsite. So she wouldn't miss the wedding.

Everyone filed in and took a seat, except for River and Maggie. They stood on the opposite side of the aisle, both of them looking ready to burst at any moment. Daryl cast a concerned glance at his sister in law, who seemed to be breathing much harder than normal. But he quickly forgot about her when he saw Carol. She looked like an angel. And Daryl was so busy staring at her that she had to nudge him when it was time for him to say his I do. He got the ring on her finger and pulled her in to kiss her when he heard River groan in pain. Daryl looked up in time to see River collapse. She fell to her knees, gripping her stomach and letting her breath out in short pained gasps. Daryl's eyes widened when he noticed that there was a suspicious puddle of liquid on the ground under her feet.

"She's been in labor all morning," Carol said, leaning around Daryl to make sure Merle heard her. He cursed under his breath and crossed the small space, sweeping his wife up into his arms. Merle booked it for the medical bay. He could hear people following behind him and he hoped at least one of them knew what the hell to do next. Because midwifery was not part of his particular skill set. Merle turned, hoping to see Rosita or Carol. Instead, Glenn was next to him. He and Beth had Maggie propped up between them. And while she was still on her feet, other than that she wasn't looking much better than River.

River birthed her baby only a few minutes after she was set down on the gurney in the medical bay. Maggie took a little longer. Partly because she wasn't as far into her labor as RIver was when she was brought in. And partly because it was her first child. But by the time they would have been having cake and champagne in the wedding tent, both babies had made their arrivals.

"I'm so sorry for ruinin' yer day," River said, apologizing to Carol for what must have been at least the tenth time. Carol just smiled and adjusted the small baby in her arms.

"Just look at his sweet little face. He could never ruin anything," Carol gushed, stroking her finger over the soft baby roundness of the newborn's cheek. "I think the day was perfect."

"Ain't no one's ever gonna ferget it," Daryl joked. "That's for sure." He leaned down, gently scooping up his new nephew into his arms and handing Carol the other half of his slice of wedding cake. Glenn approached him from the other side, holding his own small son close to the baby in Daryl's arms. Glenn's son was smaller but more alert, his eyes open as he flailed his tiny fists in the air. When the boy started to fuss, Glenn turned him over to River. With a practiced hand, she adjusted his receiving blanket, tucking his tiny hands back in and securely swaddling them against his chest. Glenn smiled, carefully taking his tiny baby burrito back from her and holding his baby in his arms again. He retreated back to Maggie's side. She seemed nervous about people handling their son. Unlike River, who started passing her own newborn around like a party favor the moment his cord was cut.

"Did you figure out a name yet?," Glenn asked. He and Maggie settled on their baby names months ago. So little Hershel was named the moment he was born and announced to be a boy.

"I thought fer sure I was havin' another girl," River said. "I was gonna name 'er Daisy. I didn't pick out any boy names." River flicked her eyes towards Merle, hoping he might have some suggestions. The corners of her mouth twitched up into a smile. While everyone's attention was on the new babies, Merle climbed onto the empty cot next to her and went straight to sleep. River eased herself out of bed and grabbed a folded blanket from a nearby shelf. She covered her husband up, tucking the blanket in around him gently before she climbed back onto her own cot.

Everyone sat a while longer, talking about baby names while they passed around plates of wedding cake and snacks. Under Carol's careful supervision, Mika was allowed a chance to hold River's baby. Wren and Carl perched on either side of the girl, cooing and smiling at Wren's new brother. When the baby started to fuss, Carol lifted him from Mika's arms and returned him to River so she could feed him. Then Carol quietly started attempting to corral everyone out of the medical center. Daryl quickly caught on to her not so subtle hints and helped, sending Wren and Carl back to Rick's house. And then kicking all the other visitors out. Carol appreciated his help. Especially since people responded more quickly to Daryl's orders than to her polite urgings. Merle was snoring. Maggie looked exhausted. And though she seemed to be enjoying herself, Carol was certain that after pushing out a nine pound baby with no anesthetics, River could also probably use some rest.

"Are you sure you don't want me to stay," Carol asked, carefully placing the bassinet between River and Maggie's cots.

"Carol, its yer wedding night," River stated. "Yer not stayin' here."

"I've got it," Glenn promised, speaking up when he saw Carol was still lingering in the medical bay despite Daryl's multiple attempts to lead her towards the door. Glenn was planning to stay awake and keep an eye on everyone. Denise even left him some coffee he could brew if he needed it. And when he got too tired, he figured he would just wake Merle up and they could swap. The babies were healthy. Maggie and River were both doing fine. He was certain that it was not necessary for Carol and Daryl to spend their first night as husband in the infirmary.

Carol headed for River's bed, giving one last hug to River and pressing one more kiss onto her new son's milk scented head. She leaned over the bassinet and grazed her fingers softly over little Hershel's cheek, being careful not to wake him. Then she sighed and headed for the door. Daryl wrapped his arm around her shoulders, tucking Carol into his side.

"How's it feel so far?," he asked with a small smile. "Ya like bein' my wife?"

"So far it's exhausting," Carol told him with a quiet giggle. Daryl snorted out a laugh as they headed up the small path to their house. When they got to the bottom of the stairs, he pulled Carol up into his arms, lifting her like she weighed almost nothing at all. She wrapped her arms around him, tucking her head into the crook of his neck and nibbling at the sensitive skin behind his ear. Daryl turned, capturing her mouth with his as he climbed the last stair and stepped up onto the porch.

"You think yer exhausted now," he teased, twisting the doorknob and then kicking the front door open with his boot. "Just wait until we get upstairs."

** This will mark the end of part one of this story. There will be a time hop over the Saviors and then the story will pick back up with the whisperers arc. I'm going to post the first few chapters as a preview but then it might be a little while before more updates start on this story again as my plan is to complete TWYF and work on updating a few of my other WIPs before I start writing the second half of this story. Thanks to anyone that left a review and as always happy reading. **