Newly Revised
Daryl was kissing Ani after they'd finally calmed down, her shirt already off and him having every intention of celebrating in bed when Merle's voice rang out, "Ani?! Daryl?! Prisoner went missing!"
"Dammit!" Daryl said, pulling away from Ani and adjusting himself as she threw on one of his wife beaters.
He grabbed her hand and took her downstairs; he'd be damned if he was letting her out of his sight any time soon. His wife was pregnant and he wasn't about to be the one not to protect her and he sure as hell wasn't about to let her work herself to death anymore. Daryl could barely contain the anger he felt towards Jesus at what he'd almost done earlier that day by knocking her into the vending machine. If they hadn't have agreed before they'd left Alexandria that the possibility was real, he might not have been paying extra attention to her to catch her before she went stomach first into the thing. For the first time in a long time, Daryl felt the fear of losing something he didn't even have yet, something that was simply a promise of what was to come. The thought of losing the baby now that he knew it was there was more terrifying than the thought of being a father. Ani wasn't about to leave his side until the baby was born, and probably not even after. Hell, he doubted once they told Merle that he would be willing to let Ani go anywhere whatsoever without a fight.
They followed Merle and Abraham with Glenn joining them until they got to Rick's house, entering with guns at the ready. Confusion reigned supreme as they saw Rick without a shirt, doing up his belt as Michonne came out behind him and Carl was holding a gun to Jesus. Ani just looked between the four as her eyebrows rose to her hairline and her jaw slackened; the last people she thought would get together was Michonne and Rick. Abraham and Sasha had been a given from the get go as well as Maggie and Glenn's attraction to each other. Rick and Michonne was a pairing right out of left field that she never even saw coming. They were good friends and definitely had chemistry, but it was the kind of chemistry where she balanced him out and he kept her sane. Oh. That makes sense now, she thought to herself though, and she couldn't help but feel bad for Carl who was blindsided by the obviously spontaneous turn of events.
"It's—It's okay," Michonne told them as she adjusted her own belt.
"'Bout time the two a ya got some," Ani commented, earning her a look from both adults and a snort from Abraham, who was standing beside her.
"You said we should talk," Rick told the man sitting on his stairs with a painting in his hands. "Let's talk."
They all practically marched the man down to the dining room before Merle left to go check on Francine and get the construction crew going on expanding the wall again. Glenn also left to go get Maggie, who was having a hard time dealing with her emotions over the fact that nothing had grown yet. Ani was leaning against the wall, her arms folded and resting comfortably on her stomach as a small smile played on her lips. She was so excited that she wanted to shout it from the roof, but she also didn't want to announce that they were expecting. They hadn't even talked about it yet as Daryl had had other plans after finding out and she hadn't even thought about it. It was still a lot to process and she wasn't even sure how she would go about telling the others if she did. Daryl was still pissed about the day before and was pacing a path back and forth behind the intruder. They all waited around the table until Rick sat down, staring at the man for a moment before he began the interrogation.
"So, how'd you get out?" Rick asked. "I know I had a man on the door."
"One guard can't cover two exits. Or third floor windows. Knots untie and locks get picked. Entropy comes from order, right?" Jesus answered, looking around and then over to Ani.
"Right," Daryl said as Ani pulled him back and leaned against him, his arm wrapped around her protectively as he kept a hold of his gun in the other hand.
"I checked out your arsenal," Jesus told them, making Ani scowl. "I haven't seen anything like that in a long time. You're well-equipped, but your provisions are starting to run low. Very low for the amount of people you have. Fifty four?"
"More'n that," Ani told him as Maggie and Glenn walked back in and sat down, Maggie looking a little worse for the wear with bags under her eyes and dirt on her face.
After a moment of silence where Jesus just looked at Ani's hard face, he said, "Well, I appreciate the cookie. My compliments to the chef."
"Yeah, she ain't here," Daryl angrily gruffed out; Carol had made the cookies and was currently at the pantry.
"Look, we got off to a bad start," Jesus stated.
"Undastatement a the year, there, pal," Ani responded.
"We're on the same side," he reasoned. "The living side. You, Daryl and Rick had every reason to leave me out there, but you didn't. I'm from a place that's a lot like this one. Part of my job is searching out other settlements to trade with. I took your truck because my community needs things, and the two of you look like trouble" he said to Rick and Daryl before looking over to Ani. "And you just looked out of place until you threw me, which was when I started thinking you might be trouble."
"Out a everyone 'ere, I am the trouble," was her response.
"I was wrong," Jesus admitted. "You're good people. And this is a good place. I think our communities may be in a position to help each other."
"Do you have food?" Glenn asked as Abraham put his pistol away.
"We've started raising livestock," Jesus answered honestly. "We scavenge, we grow. Everything from tomatoes to sorghum."
"Tell us why we should believe you," Rick said.
"He's tellin' the truth, Rick," Ani offered. "I'd know if 'e wasn't. Too calm when outnumbered. Lookin' each a us in the eye when 'e answas our questions. Could a hurt ya in ya sleep when 'e caught ya in the buff. Got ta say, way ta go, Rick. Not even Daryl and I've been caught completely naked."
"We caught you-" Glenn started before Ani interrupted.
"Our shirts were off and that was it! Weren' nothin' ya could see, that's for damn sure! Unlike ya perky little Asian ass!"
"That's enough!" Rick stated, trying to get the subject back on track.
"I can show you," Jesus told Rick. "We take a car, I can get you back home in a day and you can all see for yourselves who we are and what we have to offer."
"Wait," Maggie said. "You're lookin' for more settlements. You mean you're already trading with other groups?"
He chuckled as he sat back, still smiling when he said, "Your world's about to get a whole lot bigger."
~x~
"Stay here with Merle," Daryl told Ani as they stood in front of the RV, checking the engine and making sure it was in running order.
"Hell nah," she said, ducking under his arm and pressing herself to his chest. "Now more'n eva, I don' want ta leave ya side."
He held onto her and kissed her forehead as Denise walked up and held out two plastic wrapped parcels to each of them, "Here. Homemade oatcake. Complex carbohydrates, omega-3s."
"Looks like shite."
"Yeah, we're makin' a pit stop," Daryl agreed. "I'll pick something up for us then."
"Like rabies?" Denise asked, making Ani snort as Daryl looked at her offended.
"What? It was a funny quip!"
"Is this 'cause I tried to get you that stuff?" Daryl asked Denise.
"Yeah. And you remind me of someone I used to know," Denise said honestly, Ani wondering if she meant her brother, Dennis. "Besides, Ani needs the folate for the baby." They both looked around and then at the woman, obviously not wanting anyone else to know yet, making her say, "Sorry, Tara saw you grab the test and I just assumed..."
"Ya right in ya assumption, have been for a while, I guess," Ani told her. "But now I'm worried 'bout how far along I am. I mean, I've done a lot a stupid shite, and then...oh gods," Ani balked. "They...their attack!"
Daryl wrapped an arm around Ani and pulled her straight into his chest, just holding her as he realized the same thing she had. No matter how they looked at it, it had only been two months since Tom and Ellie's attack, which meant she had been pregnant during it. If they had landed one hit to her stomach, if she had hit her back against that wall wrong, they wouldn't have even known. Those bastards almost cost them more than they would ever be able to make them pay the pair back for. Both Daryl and Ani were shaken at the thought of it and everything else that she had done, that they had endured. So many things had gone wrong since they had found Alexandria and they didn't even know how long she had been pregnant for to begin with. Denise put a hand on her shoulder in a show of support herself as the woman shook in her husbands arms as he held her tightly, a dark expression forming on his face.
"I see 'em ever again, they're dead, I promise you that, baby girl. I ain't lettin' them near you ever again," he promised Ani, kissing her hair as she took a shaky breath.
"I'll hold ya ta it," she whispered before taking the oatcake from Denise. "Thanks, Denny."
"I hope it tastes better than it looks," Daryl said before taking it from Ani and sticking it in his pocket. "'Cause it still looks like shit."
"Yeah, well, shit's better than roadkill," Denise told him, making Ani snort a chuckle at the face she made. "Okay, maybe—just eat it," she said before she walked away.
"Should we tell Merle?" Ani asked Daryl.
"Not right now," Daryl said, pulling her into him. "When we get back. Let me have today."
Ani looked at him and his serious, but soft, expression, "This really does mean a lot ta ya, doesn' it? Not jus' 'cause I'm pregnant, but 'cause ya get ta be a daddy, huh?"
"Got the same reason I wanna be one as you do bein' a momma," he told her. "Come on."
Ani smiled and stood on her tiptoes to kiss him without breaking his hold on her, or hers on him, before Abraham shouted out, "Alright! Let's chew up some asphalt!"
They entered the RV after Rick, Daryl closing the door behind him as Ani waited for him to sit down as there wasn't much room. Once he had, Ani took her typical position beside Daryl, his arms curling around her as he brought her onto his lap completely. It didn't take long for the motion of the vehicle for her to fall asleep against his chest, much like Maggie had on Glenn's shoulder. The only difference was that Glenn openly had his hand on Maggie's stomach while Daryl just held his arm over Ani's protectively. He had been serious about not wanting anyone else to know for a little bit, at least not until it fully sunk in that they were expecting. Abraham kept staring at the other couple, too, which made him even more happy that he wasn't doing anything out of the ordinary with Ani. The man was too curious for his own good as he leaned forward while staring at Glenn and Maggie, making it obvious he had something on his mind.
"Hey, can I ask you a question?"
"Sure," Glenn said as he leaned forward as well.
"When you were, uh, pourin' the Bisquick, were you tryin' to make pancakes?"
"Uh, yes?" The look of confusion was plain as day on Glenn's face as he looked at the man before realization struck and he turned to look at Maggie, "Oh. Yeah, it's something that we talked about, yeah. Why?"
"Yeah. No, I just...Well, given the precarious state of affairs on any given Sunday, I am damn near floored that you or anyone else would have the cojones to make a call like that."
"I mean, well...we're trying to build something. Me and her. All of us."
"For the record, I see rain coming, I'm wearing goulashes. I double up."
"What about you guys?" Glenn asked Daryl in an attempt to get some heat off of himself.
"What about us?"
"Well, I mean, weren't you guys.."
"Shut up, Glenn," Ani's voice called out irritably as she snuggled closer into Daryl, the sounds of everyone talking waking her up from an otherwise great sleep. "Sleepin'."
When the RV slowed down some time later, Ani stirred, prompting Daryl to look out the window and ask, "Yo Rick, what's goin' on?"
"We got a crash ahead," he informed them, curiosity plaguing his tone. "Looks like it just happened."
Jesus stood and got really nervous as he said, "That's one of ours."
The crash was quite bloody with several still moving walkers caught in the wheels and under the side-turned vehicle. As soon as Rick stopped the RV, Jesus was out the door and heading to the car, Ani following along behind him. He frantically searched the vehicle for any signs of anything as the rest piled out and looked around, Daryl coming up to Ani to warn her to stick with him. There was no one living around the car and the only sign that anyone had even gotten out were a couple of bloody footprints. They were leading away and potentially towards one of the close-by buildings, all of which were perfect for ambushing their number. None of them could tell how many people there had been in the car, not even Jesus, meaning that they had no idea what they were up against. This was the perfect place to take out the better part of Alexandria's warriors with no hope that home would be able to stave off the attack. Jesus moved around the vehicle back to the road to find Rick's gun pointed straight at him with the hammer back.
"If this is a trick, it won't end well for you," he warned the man.
"My people are in trouble," Jesus told them. "They don't...we don't have a lot of fighters. I know how it looks, but I'll play it out. Can I borrow a gun?"
"Naw," Daryl said, pointing at Rick and then down at the ground. "We got tracks right here."
As Ani predicted, the tracks led them to an abandoned office building that had obviously been entered recently based on the shade of the scrape on the concrete by the door. Rick banged on the glass for a few as the rest watched and waited for any sign of walkers. Ani could tell that Jesus was nervous, which meant that whoever was inside he actually did care for and there was a chance there wouldn't be any problems with his people. That was refreshing, because it meant even more so that she was right in how genuine the man was. It almost, almost, had her referring to him as Jesus in her mind, but just because he was genuine didn't mean he was a friend. All it meant was that she could trust what he said to be true whether or not it was good or bad. She needed to keep an eye on him for a while longer before she had faith that her family was safe in his hands.
"They gotta be in there," the man said as Rick waited.
"We movin' in or what?" Abraham asked while Daryl paced in anxiety.
"How do we know this ain't firecrackers in a trash can?" he asked, still angry at the man despite Ani telling him several times to let it go.
"You don't," he told them.
"I think 'e's tellin' the truth, D," Ani told him as she wrapped her arms around him. "Every reaction 'e's had so far has been real."
"We'll get your people," Rick decided after hearing Ani speak. "You're staying here with one of us."
Jesus looked over to Ani and then around at the rest of the group, prompting Michonne to tell him, "That's the deal."
"Will you stay?" Glenn asked Maggie, Ani and Daryl knowing it was because of her condition, but one look at each other told them both what they already knew; Ani wasn't going anywhere without Daryl.
"Yeah," Maggie agreed. "Ya'll go, just be careful."
"We're gonna be careful," Rick told her as he cuffed Jesus around his back.
"Just hurry," he told them.
"You hear me whistle, shoot him."
"I will."
Ani entered the building between Glenn and Daryl, the three of them looking back at Maggie in trepidation of leaving the pregnant woman alone with the skilled fighter. Daryl put a hand on Ani's shoulder as they went down one hallway with Glenn. They took down two walkers, Ani's throwing knife hitting one while Daryl's knife got the next. Another walker came out of no where and grabbed at Ani, Glenn being quick to dispatch it as she jumped back. Daryl lead them into the room the thing had come out of, nothing more than another office with a desk, chair, and filing cabinet. There was nothing out of the ordinary as they headed back towards the hall until a thud sounded behind them. Cautiously spreading out with their weapons at the ready, Daryl moved closer to the desk before pulling the chair out. An obviously shaken and terrified man came out with his hands held up in surrender looking pale and soaked in sweat. Jesus had been completely honest about his people not being fighters if this man was anything to show for their community.
"Come on," Glenn told him. "We're with Jesus. Let's go."
"I-I-I can't go with you," he stuttered. "I'm looking for my friend. He's close, and he's hurt from the crash."
"Dammit," Ani whispered. "Fine, we can look a few minutes more, but that's it. Place is crawlin' with the dead!"
Daryl pulled Ani along behind Glenn as they found their way towards the exit, the other guy trailing along behind them. There was barely any light in the hallways and several more walkers came out of the even darker offices as they moved along. They met up with most of the others, another woman tagging along with them; neither she nor the man behind Ani even had weapons. By the look of them, they had absolutely no reason to be outside of whatever community they came from with how ill-prepared they were. Glenn shining the light down one hall where Abraham had a walker pressed to the wall ready to kill it. It wasn't until the man following along behind him shouted at him not to that they all realized that it was a living man. He was even more pale and sweaty than the other two and it seemed like he could barely hold his own weight. Ani could tell it was the injured man that the man they'd saved had told them about, wondering what his injuries were and if she could help him.
"Come on, man, let's go!" Daryl yelled at the redhead as he ran past him, Ani tapping the man's shoulder as she was pulled along.
They made it back to the RV relatively easily enough, Ani immediately pulling out her pack and began to field dress the injured man's leg with her herbs. Harlan, the man they saved, was the doctor for the settlement they were heading to and mentioned that he was surprised she knew how to do that. When she told him it was just a simple herbal remedy, he told her that that kind of thing would be useful soon enough. Their group had originally gone into town for medicines and other necessities that they had started to run low on back at home. While they had been able to find some of what they needed, they had ended up crashing into a pack of walkers on their way back. Harlan was pretty adamant that, if it hadn't have been for them, their group would have died back at that office building. Glenn followed him when he walked to the back of the RV as Ani curled back up on Daryl's lap.
"You okay Freddie?" Jesus asked the injured man, making her open her eyes and look over at him.
"For a second back there, just when I thought he was gonna...I saw my wife. She died before all this. Just when I thought it was over," he cried mournfully even though he was still happy. "There she was. Clear as day."
No one managed to say anything else before the RV came to a sudden stop, Rick revving the engine only for it to buck back and forth a couple times, upsetting Ani's stomach as he said, "Dammit. A storm must have passed through. We're stuck."
"No worries," Jesus said as he stood. "We're here."
They piled out of the RV, Daryl stopping to give Ani a hand as there was mud everywhere and she'd only yesterday rolled her ankle again. She refused to put the air cast on, though, once she was able to have her full weight on it, saying that she wasn't going to use the damn things if she didn't need to. Even if he wasn't happy about it, one darkened look from her had Daryl realizing that that particular subject was probably going to be a tender one to navigate throughout the pregnancy. She was so used to doing everything herself and healing in her way that she wasn't about to let him pressure her into doing things differently right now. On top of that, the last time she had injured the joint it had lead to their fight and that gave him all the more reason to let it go. Her ankle would heal from a simple roll easily enough on its own so long as she didn't injure it again. Daryl was happy enough that he'd been able to get the promise that she would wear it for a week if she did happen to hurt the same ankle again within the next two weeks.
"That's the Hilltop," Jesus said, standing in front of the others as they looked at a wall of what looked to be telephone poles to Ani.
Daryl kept Ani between him and Abraham, trusting the girl's self-appointed brother to protect her if he couldn't. Even if they hadn't said anything, Abraham had made it a point to be protective of Ani after what had happened with the dickheads at the gate. Ani couldn't help but think that between Abe, Merle, and Daryl, she wasn't going to have a chance to breathe, let alone take a piss, without someone knowing what and where she was doing it and how long it was going to take once everyone found out. The man was already worried about Maggie, and he'd only found out a couple days ago that she was expecting. She couldn't imagine how bad he would get as time went on and he found out both of them were pregnant, let alone when they started to show. Abraham had always been protective of people weaker than him and had already proven how far he was willing to go to do so with Eugene. Okay, so not all cupcakes and rainbows, she thought with a smile playing on her face as they walked closer to the wall.
"Stop right there," a disembodied voice sounded from above, prompting all those carrying guns to lock and load on target at the men guarding the gate.
"Whoa," Jesus said as he turned to the group of survivors and raised his hands.
"You gonna make us?" Daryl asked, adjusting his stance to be in front of Ani, rather than beside, Abraham similarly making to stand between the little woman and Maggie so as to cover them both.
"Jesus, what the hell is this?" the man at the gate asked Jesus.
"Open the gates, Cal. Freddie's hurt," was the only reply the man got back before Jesus turned to Rick and their group. "Look, sorry about these guys. They get antsy standing up there doing nothing."
"They give up their weapons. Then we'll open the gates," the man insisted.
"Or we could always unload our weapons on ya and open the damn gate ourselves!" Ani called up. "We don' got ta be nice 'bout this. We're the ones who helped ya people and got 'em back 'ere. Ya really want ta try us?"
"You want 'em, why don't you come down here and get 'em?" Daryl asked angrily, thinking Ani was right and remembering how the last time he was told to give up his weapon he'd been stabbed, something Ani was thinking about too.
"Gentlemen, look, we vouch for these people, alright?" Dr. Harlan said as he wound between the survivors, trying to make the people at the gate understand that they should be grateful to this group, not wary. "They saved us out there!"
"Lower your spears!" Jesus tried again.
"Look, I'm not takin' any chances," Rick told him. "Tell your guy Gregory to come out here."
"No," Jesus told him. "Don't you see what just happened? I'm letting you keep your guns. Look, we ran out of ammo months ago. I like you people. I trust you. Trust us." Rick made a motion for everyone to lower their weapons, though Abraham and Daryl were the last to do so before Jesus turned back towards the gate, "Open the gates, Cal."
Ani waited until Daryl started to move, walking beside him as they entered the walled area, both of them keeping their weapons handy. They could see that the settlement had chickens, crops, what looked like an blacksmith, too, which would come in handy for making more blades. There was a large house sat overlooking the entire community with several trailers off to the side. The crops they were growing looked to be quite abundant and Ani couldn't help but think about a nice glass of milk, which had her mouth watering, when someone walked by with a cow. She listened as the doctor thanked Glenn and Maggie again, making a mental note of which trailer he'd motioned to when he told them to visit and deciding she should probably visit herself. While Denny was becoming a fine doctor, she wasn't an obstetrician like the man said he was and hopefully he would be able to tell them how far along she was. Still, the entire community was thriving as far as their ability to keep themselves fed and armed, and that wasn't something to snub their noses up that.
"There was a materials yard for a power company nearby," Jesus explained as they walked around. "That's how we put up the walls. A lot of people came from a FEMA camp. Trailers came with them."
"How did people find out about this place?" Michonne asked.
Jesus turned around and motioned with both hands to the large house, "That's called Barrington House. The family that owned it gave it to the state in the 30s. The state turned it into a living history museum. Every elementary school for 50 miles used to come here for field trips. The place was running a long time before the modern world built up around it. I think people came here because they figured it'd keep running after the modern world broke down. Those windows up there let us see for miles in every direction, perfect for security. Come on, I'll show you inside."
Ani looked at Daryl and bent close, "Ya think they'd give a gal a glass a milk?"
Daryl just looked at her and scoffed before pulling her under his arm and into his side as he thought about how random that question was. Here they were behind potential enemy lines and all she could think about was a damn glass of milk. Ani couldn't help the fact that she was salivating at the thought of a glass of milk; there were just some animals that shouldn't be milked, like pigs. She didn't know whether she wanted to laugh or pout at Daryl's reaction to her question, but then again, it was kind of ridiculous to be thinking about. It'd just been so long since she'd had it that that was all she could think about; a nice, tall glass of milk with some squirrel fritters and a salad. Her cheeks turned crimson as her stomach grumbled loud enough for Daryl, Abraham, and Michonne to turn and look at her. Ani had only been thinking about food, not actually hungry after being forced to eat while Daryl readied her pack.
"Have you eaten lately?" Michonne asked her.
"I swear I did!"
"You want that shit cake Denise gave us?"
Ani pulled a face at that, her stomach instantly souring, "Hell nah. I don' think I could eat that if I tried."
Michonne just gave her a questioning look as Abraham looked at her calculatingly only for her to glare him down. They began following Jesus into the large 'house;' it should have been called Barrington mansion with how large it was. There had to be at least three or four stories to the place and it was longer than two trailers and as wide as one. It definitely seemed to be the kind of place that could house a community as large as this one seemed to be. She could see why it had been a museum once upon a time with how push everything was the minute they walked through the door. As soon as they walked into the foyer, they were met with pictures and paintings of aristocrats, famous figures, and politicians from a bygone age. The spacious floor plan had a few large rugs laid out, one with a table and nick knack stand while the other was clear. A massive staircase led upstairs while the lights were older style chandeliers and barely any inch of the wall remained uncovered, let alone the floors.
Ani could only nod her head along with Abraham's exclamation of, "Good gracious, Ignacious."
"Most of the rooms have been converted into living spaces," Jesus told them. "Even the ones that weren't bedrooms."
"People live here and the trailers?" Rick asked.
"We plan to build," Jesus said with a pointed look to Maggie and Glenn. "There's babies being born."
None of them noticed Ani and Daryl's small smiles to each other at his statement before a door opened to her left before an older gentleman with a mostly bald and grayed head walked out with a, "Jesus! You're back. And with guests."
"Everyone," Jesus told them, "this is Gregory. He keeps the trains running on time around here."
"I'm the boss," he said.
"Prolly not by vote," Ani quipped under her breath, Daryl whispering in her ear to stop.
"I'm Rick," Rick stated. "I'm part of a community-"
"Why don't y'all go get cleaned up, hmm?"
"Why don' ya learn some mannas?" Ani immediately countered, bristling at the lack of respect; even the Governor had had respect. "There's somethin' called common courtesy. Ya name's been given, it's only right and respectful a ya ta listen ta ours."
"Jesus will show you where you can get washed up," the man continued. "Then come back-"
"We're done 'ere," Ani said, turning to Jesus. "I thought ya said ya wanted trade 'tween communities. This jackass jus' wants ta be a jackass. Let 'im. We're wastin' our time here."
"Now, hold on," Jesus tried to reassure her.
"Nah. I ain' puttin' up with a pretentious prick who thinks that jus' 'cause they seem like they're in charge, they get ta talk ta me and mine like we're shite they can scrape from their heels. Ain' doin' it. Ya said ya wanted our help, so we came. Ya man obviously don' feel the same, so why waste our breath or our time beatin' a dead horse?"
"You certainly have a mouth on you, young girl," Gregory told her, quite obviously checking her out while both she and Daryl stiffened, prepared to attack without a second's notice. "Tell you what, why don't you come into my office. We can talk and work something out."
"Ew," was her only response.
"Now wait just a second-"
"Nope, not waitin'. I've seen ya kind before, ya perv. Any younga woman than yaself that looks half way decent ya'd be willin' ta proposition. I'm guessin' I ain' even the first. Hell, my guess is that ya ain' even the leada ninety nine percent a the people 'ere want, ya jus' got the damn position from bein' 'ere from the start. Somethin' betta will come along soon 'nough, and ya won' have that powa ya so desperate ta cling ta."
"Jesus," Gregory said in a warning tone.
"Ani, why don't we go upstairs. We can talk a bit more up there," Jesus reasoned, knowing that Ani had actually hit the nail on the head.
"Yeah, alright," Rick said, giving Ani a look that clearly said to tone it down.
Ani and Daryl both just scoffed and followed the man up the stairs, listening to Rick as he told Maggie, "You clean up first. You talk to him."
"Why?" she asked.
"Neither me or Ani should," he stated simply, clearly having the same reaction to the man as Ani. "And you gotta start doin' these things."
Ani didn't bother cleaning up any more than Daryl or Abraham did, just stood at a window watching outside while Maggie talked to Gregory when Abraham asked, "How long do you think Rick and Michonne been ugging bumplies?"
"Don' ya mean bumpin' uglies?"
"That's what I said."
"I don't know," Daryl said, turning his head to the man.
"You two ever think about it?"
"'Bout bangin' each otha? All the damn time," Ani said as she looked over at him herself.
"No, I mean, like Glenn and Maggie. Havin' a pup."
"If ya eva call my kid a pup, I'll kill ya. And we'll start one."
"How long you two been together?"
"Longa than Glenn and Maggie," she answered.
"And you still haven't...?"
"Does it matta? Shite happens when it happens. Ain' got a timeline we got ta work on," Ani told him, turning in Daryl's arm to hide the smile she shot up at him.
It didn't take long for Maggie to come back out to the area where the rest of their group was waiting for her looking thoroughly frustrated. She complained about how Gregory was sexist, pig-headed, and arrogant and completely disregarded anything and everything she had to say. He'd also repeatedly calling her Natalie instead of Maggie, which only served to further irritate her. Daryl had to physically hold onto Ani, who went into a right rage at how Gregory had treated Maggie, to keep her from going to the office door and tearing it down. No one treated their people with such disrespect and got away with it, especially not Maggie or the kids. Maggie had been nothing but understanding ever since she met Ani, something that was rare, and had never lost sight of who she was. For her to be completely and utterly disrespected by Gregory when he was just a nobody had Ani seeing red and out for blood for that alone. Jesus could tell how angry she was at how little respect they were getting and tried to smooth things over, though it worked to little avail.
"We want to generate trade," he said. "Gregory does. But ammo isn't something we urgently need."
"Well, how's that?" Rick asked.
"The walls hold. We just brought in more medicine. Gregory wants the best deal possible."
"Ya do realize that ya man literally jus' wanted us ta leave our own homes ta come 'ere ta help ya's, right? He don' fuckin' want trade. He wants workas that do 'is biddin' and don' mind bein' treated like shite. Tell me, Jesus, does 'e know everyone's names and what they do for 'im? Or does 'e jus' expect 'em ta fall in line and do 'is biddin'? Has 'e even killed a walka yet?" Ani asked as she paced a path on the rug.
"Call me Jesus, and no, Gregory was already here by the time the walls went up. He hasn't been outside them."
"What the hell are we doin' 'ere, Rick?" Ani asked. "Jesus wants trade, not Gregory. Gregory wants ta get 'is dick wet in somethin' younga than 'im and, again, he wants workas ta walk all ova. I ain' fuckin' interested in dealin' with a turncoat."
"Gregory isn't a turncoat," Jesus said with a scoff and a smile.
"Oh yeah? He doin' what's best for ya people, or what's best for 'im?"
"He wants what's best all around."
"Yeah, well, we want things, too," Daryl told him as Ani scoffed and said, "Yeah right."
"We need food," Rick said. "We came all this way, we're gonna get it."
"And that's a promise, not an implied threat," Ani told Jesus. "Ya think ya people can stop us from takin' this place if Greg ain' goin' ta be reasonable? I don'. Even in my condition, I could take ya on without bein' hurt," she said bluntly, earning several quizzical glances from the others.
"I will talk to him," Jesus told her seriously as Daryl walked over to her and pulled her back into his arms, "and we will work this out."
"You ain't fightin'," he whispered in her ear.
"I'll do what I got ta ta make sure this baby is born healthy and has a good home ta come inta the world ta. That means fightin' ta get what we need, that means fightin'. I ain' jus' sittin' on my ass 'til I don' have a choice ta," she told him equally quietly. "But, I promise, 'less I can', I'll stay behind ya and let ya do the betta part a the fightin'."
"I can live with that," he told her, kissing her shoulder as Jesus kept speaking.
"Circumstances change. We're doing well now, and you will next."
"And how the hell do ya s'ppose that'll happen when we came 'ere ta trade and ya man ain' even willin' ta speak. Sure, ya got meds, but how long are they gonna last 'fore ya need our knowledge a herbs? Ya scavenge and grow, but do ya forage or even know what ta look for in the wilds that's edible or useful? What about huntin'? Ya ain' even goin' ta last through winta with what ya got, specially not with the livestock and nah hay!" Ani commented.
"I can make him understand that if you give me a few days," Jesus insisted.
"To sit around with our thumbs up our asses?" Abraham said. "I'm with Tiny on this, Rick. Let's hit the road and call our losses now."
"We can wait," Michonne said.
"Yeah," Rick agreed.
"That's fuckin' bullshite and ya know it Rick!"
"Ani, we need-"
"We don' need nothin' from that asshole."
"Ani," Michonne tried. "You need to-"
"Tell me ta calm down, Michy, and I swear I'll take ya sword and shove it up Rick's ass! I ain' showin' nah fuckin' respect nor calmin' down when my family is bein' treated like shite! When this entire compound is run by an asshole who will always, and I promise ya this Jesus, always care more 'bout 'imself than the people who look ta 'im ta lead. I'm tellin' ya, that man in there is more a coward than Genie!"
A man burst into the house then, stopping whatever Ani's next words were going to be as Gregory opened his office doors and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Ya fuckin' head, ya prick," Ani spat at him before listening to the man who'd come in.
"They're back," was all he said before Gregory followed him back outside, Rick, Daryl and Ani quickly following behind along with Jesus and the rest.
"Nathan," Gregory said to the trio walking up. "What happened to everybody else? Where's Tim and Marsha?"
"Ya know I can tell from 'is voice 'e don' actually care, right?" Ani leaned closer to Jesus and said quietly. "His inflection and tone are off and 'is stance is too casual, too relaxed, for a man that's lost people."
"They're dead," the man, Nathan, told them as he walked closer.
"Negan?" Gregory asked, making Ani and Daryl stiffen, Daryl's arm pulling her closer to him.
"Yeah."
"We had a deal," Gregory said while putting his hands on his hips.
"He said it wasn't enough," the other man said. "Was the drop light."
"No," came the reply that had Ani looking at the man as if he'd grown two heads.
"They still have Craig," the woman told them.
"They said they'd keep him alive, return him to us, if I deliver a message to you," Nathan said, coming closer and putting his hand on Gregory's shoulder.
"So tell me."
"I'm sorry," he said before stabbing the man.
Even though Ani could tell the man had been lying about the drop being light, she still went to move, only being held back by Daryl who gave her a pointed look. Nathan was yelling about how he had to kill Gregory to get his brother back as Michonne and Rick moved him away from the now bleeding man, making him drop the knife he was holding. When he started fighting Rick, who fought back in earnest, took the man down and got three good punches in before the other guy pulled him off, allowing Nathan to get to his knees. Abraham tackled that man before he was overcome himself, the man straddling him and choking him out. Daryl went up and used an illegal strike Ani had taught him to break the man's wrist before him off as Nathan prepared to tackle him, picking up the knife he'd dropped. Ani didn't let him get any farther, though, axe kicking the man in the back of the head making him go down. She knew how much force she had used and knew damn well he wouldn't be getting back up for the rest of the day, if ever. Her family had been threatened and she had made sure she had dealt with the threat accordingly.
Broken hand guy screamed as Nathan's body went down, "No! Ethan! You killed him!"
"Yeah, well, that's what happens if ya try ta kill one a my family," Ani said with a shrug right before the woman came up and tried to punch her in the face, Ani dodging and sending the woman to the ground with a punch of her own instead as she pulled her gun.
"Drop it! Drop it now!" one of the men with a spear in his hand commanded.
"I don't think we will," Rick said as he pulled his own gun out.
"Everyone!" Jesus said, running to get in between all the individuals involved. "This is over! It's over. Ethan was our friend, but let's not pretend he was anything more than a coward who attacked us. He did this."
"Wait, Ethan?" Ani asked, looking back to Gregory. "I thought I jus' misheard when 'e said 'is name, but 'is name really is Ethan?!Ya can' even get the names a ya people right?!" she yelled at him before turning back to the community. "Does 'e know any a y'all otha than Jesus? Get ya names right? Know what y'all do for the community? Does 'e?!"
"Ani, this is not the time," Jesus said.
"Nah, I think it's the perfect time. Open ya eyes, people. This asshole don' give two shites 'bout ya."
"Ani, you stopped the attack," Jesus tried. "You need to know, things aren't as simple as they might seem."
"Then fuckin' start explainin' or I ain' goin' ta be held accountable for what I do!"
"Just give me some time."
"Tend ta ya fuckin' piss poor leada and then ya betta explain, 'cause I'm havin' a righteously hard time keepin' myself in check right now."
"Yeah, she normally would just knock someone out," Rick defended as Daryl walked up and pulled her over to Abraham.
"Hey, man, you good?" he asked the redhead before they helped him up.
"Yeah, I'm better than alright," he chuckled, making Ani smile at him, though it didn't reach her eyes.
"You alright?" Daryl asked Ani.
"M'fine. He had a knife. He was goin' ta charge ya. I did what I had ta," she told him with a sigh.
They started walking back into the house, stopping only momentarily as Ani caught sight of the woman crying over Ethan's body. Daryl used a little more force to bring her into the house rather than stand there watching the woman mourn. Ani looked down and said a quiet 'I'm sorry' to the woman, even if she knew she couldn't hear it while Daryl pressed a kiss to her hair. They had to wait for Gregory to get patched up before they could resume any talks, though Ani doubted there would be any more talks to be had. She was standing at the window with Maggie, Daryl leaning against a bookshelf not too far away, watching as the woman cried over the man's body while the rest of the people went on with their lives. The rest of the community was clearly unable to decide how they felt about the situation given how awkward they acted around her. While she was crying over her lost companion, they were giving her a wide berth, some openly staring, some giving little glances, some ignoring completely, as they went about their day. It was clear these people had already tasted lost and knew too well what the grieving process entailed. Ani wondered how many people had died for this community to act somewhat indifferent to death while still feeling guilt towards those left behind.
"Dr. Carson was able to patch Gregory up," Jesus told them after coming out of the man's room. "He's in pain, but he'll live."
"Not 'nough pain in the world for a man like that ta be in ta satisfy me," Ani growled out. "What kind a leada doesn' know the names a 'is people?"
"Like I said, there are a lot of factors-"
"Then fuckin' start talkin', Paul, 'fore I shove a foot up ya ass and talk ta Gregory myself, and trust me when I say I'd ratha punch 'im in the stitches ratha than actually talk!"
"We heard the name Negan," Rick took over, everyone in the room realizing how pissed off she was, even if they didn't understand it. "A while back, Daryl and Abraham had a run-in with his men. Who is he?"
"Negan's the head of a group of people he calls the Saviors," he told them as Daryl grabbed Ani and held her close. "As soon as the walls were built, the Saviors showed up. They met with Gregory on behalf of their boss. They made a lot of demands, even more threats. And he killed one of us—Rory. He was sixteen years old. They beat him to death, right in front of us. Said we needed to understand right off the bat. Gregory's not exactly good at confrontation. He's not the leader I would have chosen," he said, looking over at Ani, "but he helped make this place what it is, and the people like him."
"The people don' rightly know 'im," Ani countered. "He's gonna leave 'em high and dry as soon as the shite hits the fan, I'm tellin' ya. He ain' protectin' this place, eva. He'll run 'fore 'e fights."
"He made the deal," Maggie stated, Jesus nodding in response.
"Half of everything," he told her. "Our supplies, our crops, our livestock, it goes to the Saviors."
"And what do you get in return?" Glenn asked.
"They don't attack this place. They don't kill us."
"Why not just kill them?" Daryl asked from behind Ani, making her nod her head in agreement.
"Most of the people here don't even know how to fight, even if we had ammo."
"And who's fault is that, Jesus?" Ani asked. "Ya a fighta, I could tell by ya stance alone the first time we met. Why haven' ya been trainin' ya people up, helpin' 'em learn how ta defend 'emselves against pricks like this?"
"I'm not particularly inclined to fight, either."
"Well, how many people does Negan have?" Rick asked him, thinking about how they could use this situation to their advantage.
"We don't know. We've seen groups as big as twenty."
"Now, hold up," Daryl said, coming out from behind Ani to make sure he had this straight. "So, they show up, kill a kid, and you give 'em half of everything? These dicks just got a good story. The boogeyman, he ain't shit. 'Specially not compared to Ania and what she's done."
"How do you know?"
"Ya know anyone else who can kill twenny six people alone, let alone jump off a roof and still come out on top?"
"'Sides that, about a month ago, we took his guys out PDQ," Abraham stated. "Left 'em in pieces and puddles."
"You know, we'll do it," Daryl said. "If we go get your man back, kill Negan, take out his boys, will you hook us up? We want food, medicine, and one of them cows."
"'Specially a cow!" Ani said, Abraham snorting at her childish comment.
"Confrontation's never been somethin' we've had trouble with," Rick told Jesus when he looked over to him.
"I'll take it to Gregory."
He left the room after telling them they could explore if they wanted to so that they could see what the Hilltop was like and how it worked. Ani had pulled Daryl outside rather than stay in the house with the asshole she wanted nothing more to do than punch. The fresh air helped her clear her head and calm herself down while thinking of several different reasons why this group let him lead. Perhaps, like Deanna, he had been in a position of power in the before times and had just been thrust into the leadership role at the start. It honestly made the most sense if he was someone who had been in the little leagues of politics unlike being in the Senate like Deanna had been. He might have had a seat at the City Council, but she didn't see him being anything more than that with how he acted. Gregory definitely had the high and mighty 'better than everyone' attitude that set Ani off every time she encountered it. She sighed in frustration at the entire situation and how she wasn't even being allowed to talk to the man herself. Then again, it was definitely for the best since that first comment and how he'd leered at her had immediately made her want to beat him to a pulp.
"What're you thinkin' about?" Daryl asked from behind her as he wrapped his arms around her after a short talk with Rick.
"How easy it'd be ta knock that fuck-face's teeth in," she told him, earning a snort from her husband. "Prolly accidentally kill 'im if I did punch 'im, though. Bastard's skin and bones and ready ta kick the bucket anyway."
"Yeah, well, he tries anythin', you don't think about it. Just punch 'im in the nose," Daryl told her, making her giggle while she turned in his arms.
She leaned up and gave him a chaste kiss before sighing again and telling him, "Maggie and Glenn went ova ta the doc's traila."
"Should prolly go ourselves."
"Prolly. The othas are preoccupied at the moment. Could sneak ova. Said ya didn' want 'em ta know jus' yet."
"They'll know soon enough. Merle finds out, that bastard'll go runnin' 'is mouth," Daryl told her, pulling her under his arm and leading her over there. "Why you shakin'?"
"Ya ain' scared?"
"What I got to be scared for?"
"Uh, hello, I'm pregnant. How can ya not be scared? I'm scared ta death!"
"Of what?"
"All of it. Carryin' the baby and makin' sure they're healthy. Stayin' alive when durin' birth. What happens if there's a complication? What happens if I need a c-section like Lori? What if...What if they die? Lori had the same fear as far as that goes. If we're all infected and it's passed down ta the kids, then if they die, what happens?"
"Hey, stop," Daryl told her, pulling her to stand in front of him as they reached the trailer. "Ain't no point in worryin' about any of that. You're gonna be fine. The baby's gonna be fine. We're gonna get through this. Don't you worry none."
"All I eva do is worry," she told him right before knocking on the door.
"Hello. What brings you here?" Dr. Harlan said when he opened the door.
"Well, uh..." Ani said shyly.
"She's pregnant," Daryl cut in.
"Come in. I owe you two as much as I owe Glenn and Maggie. I can do an ultrasound to check the baby. Do you know how far along?"
"You tell us," Daryl said.
"When was your last menses?"
"I don' know. That's why we don' know," Ani answered.
"Alright. Have you had any symptoms other than a missed menstrual cycle?"
"What do ya mean by symptoms?"
"Have your breasts been tender or swollen?"
"Uh, not that I know a."
"Nausea or food aversions/cravings?"
"She's been getting sick. Walkers, smells...She tends to get sick with 'em. Won't stop about squirrel, neither," Daryl answered, thinking about how she'd gotten sick while they were out with Aaron.
"What about changes in mood? Have you been tired a lot more or needing more frequent bathroom breaks?"
"Well, I don' need ta pee every five minutes, but I can admit I've been really tired lately. I've been yo-yoin' a lot more as far as my moods, too," Ani told him.
"Can you tell me when all this started?"
"I don' know. A lot has happened in a short amount a time. I can rememba what happened, but I'd be lyin' if I knew when shite started as far as moods and shite. Bein' tired's only been the last couple weeks. The squirrels...that's been a long while. At least a couple months."
"Well, hop up on the table. I'll need you to lower your pants just a little and raise your shirt so I can get to your whole stomach."
With bated breath, Ani undid her pants, but just folded the flaps over as she laid down on the bed, a death grip on Daryl's hand as he told her, "I got you, baby girl."
"Now, this is probably going to be a bit cold," Harlan said as he squeezed a bit of jelly onto her stomach, Ani jumping in surprise even though she'd been warned it would be cold. "Oh, sorry. Now, here we go," he said before setting the wand in the lubricant and beginning to move it around. A strong swooshing sound repeating from the device had Ani looking nervous before the doctor smiled and said, "Listen to that heartbeat."
"That's the heartbeat?" Ani asked, shock and amazement replacing the fear.
"Oh yeah," he told them, moving the wand around a bit more. "I'd say you're roughly thirteen weeks along." Both Ani and Daryl sucked in breaths as she began panicking, thinking about all the things she'd done in the last few months while unknowingly pregnant. "The pericardium looks good, as does the brain stem and limbs. They're growing right on track. Would you like a picture to take with you?"
"Can we?" Ani asked, staring at the baby on the screen. "That...we're really havin' a kid..."
Daryl couldn't help but chuckle at Ani's reaction, leaning down and kissing her temple as the doctor smiled, "You'd be surprised how many times I've heard that at the hospital. Taking a test is one thing, but seeing is something completely different. You're all done."
He handed Ani a towel to wipe her stomach off before handing Daryl the picture of their baby. The others were loading food into the RV as Rick and Abraham were talking to the guy who's hand Daryl broke. Apparently, they were bringing him, and Jesus, with them back to Alexandria to talk to their people about the deal they made. Maggie and Glenn were smiling at the picture in their hand, Daryl having his and Ani's in his vest pocket, before they handed it over to him. It made its way around the occupants of the RV before being handed back to the couple, Jesus commenting about how Hilltop had gotten lucky the ultrasound machine came with the FEMA trailers. Maggie was only about eight weeks along, Daryl and Ani breathing a sigh of relief that she had been in Alexandria during that time. Ani had done and been through a lot of dangerous shit before they'd found out; the fall of the prison, Terminus, Atlanta. Daryl's gut twisted knowing that he had put her in that situation, and the fight they had afterwards made a lot more sense, now. It was easy to remember everything that had happened with the others telling Jesus about their escapades since the prison.
"Don' forget ta tell 'im 'bout the twins," Ani said after they got to the part about the storm and hadn't mentioned her kittens yet.
"The twins?" he asked.
"Oh, that's right. Ya ain' met Bobby and Catty, my bobcats."
"You have bobcats?" Jesus asked, looking at the woman in a new light all over again.
"Uh, yeah, I do. That a problem?"
"No, I just think I know someone you'd probably get along with well. He's a cat person too."
"Ya goin' ta share with the class or keep me guessin'?"
"Let's get this done first, then we can talk about that."
"Fair enough," Ani said, settling back against Daryl as the RV made its way back to Alexandria, back home.