Newly Revised

He'd spent the ride to Alexandria quietly stewing in anger, holding her sleeping form to him while staring off into space and thinking about what could have happened, the bike being in the back of a truck until he could take a look at it. He blamed himself for letting her be put in harm's way even though they had both agreed that she would stay back. It did little to alleviate the anger that was swelling in his heart, the anger that had had him all but storming away from her when they left the RV. Merle had chewed her out good when Daryl told him she was taken, the entire thing ending with the two of them at odds for the better part of the afternoon. Even she and Daryl were at odds over the way he'd made it sound as if she'd planned on getting taken even if he knew that wasn't the case. The whole thing fizzled out when he found her crying in the shower under the pretense of going to take a nap. They were both having problems coming to terms with the fact they were expecting and neither knew how to move forward. Ani wasn't ready to give up her freedom, but neither of them were comfortable with the large runs or missions like yesterday had brought. He'd shut the water off and wrapped her in a towel before carrying her to bed where he held her as she cried. He couldn't help but be honest after she'd cried herself out and they'd spent time just holding each other and taking comfort in each other, her cheek pressed to his chest as she held him tightly. Daryl knew his anger was coming from a place of fear more than anything else, and Ani's was from a place of a different kind of fear. She'd fallen asleep for a little while as he gently ran his finger in a light trail up and down her arm, an hour passing before she stirred again.

They remained laying like that for a while before he sighed and told her, "I don't want you goin' back out there."

"Ya can' ask me ta sit on my ass when ya layin' ya's on the line. I jus' can' do that, D," she told him. "I'll do my best ta stay out a the thick a it. Ta stay out a the fightin' as much as possible. Keep ta huntin' and scavengin' and foragin' as much as possible. But ya can' box me in. Ya can' ask me ta stay 'ere when ya out there. Not yet."

Daryl sighed as he laid on his back, holding her just as tightly as he folded an arm under his head; he couldn't even look at her as he processed her request. While he could understand it, while it was reasonable to an extent, he simply couldn't bring himself to be okay with it. Daryl had already been wanting her to stay behind the walls of Alexandria almost since they'd first entered them, especially after her parents' attack. Now she was knocked up with his kid and he'd be damned if that feeling hadn't blown itself out of proportion. All he could see was how her shirt had been cut, the poncho having been off kilter when the woman had produced the knife. Carol told him about how she'd seen Ani bleeding when her shirt had gotten cut, his fingers tracing the light scratch just off to the side of her belly button afterwards, making sure there was no trace of blood. All he could see was her cut open; losing both the baby and her was a terrifying prospect and one he couldn't stop thinking about now. What happened if she went out there again and wasn't as lucky as she was this time? She had Maggie and Carol with her this time, even if she ended up killing most of the people. What happened if she had been stuck in that situation without someone else with her?

"Don't like it."

"Baby, please," she asked, sitting up enough to be able to look him in the eyes as he attempted to stare adamantly at the ceiling. "Don' try ta control me like that. Don' try ta force me ta stay in one place. 'Cause we both know it'll only hurt us both when I can' do that. I'll do my damnedest ta stay away from fights I don' got ta be a part a, but ya can' jus' ask me ta wait on the sidelines while ya out there puttin' ya life on the line. I can' jus' sit on my ass, D. Please, don' ask me ta do that."

"Come 'ere," he replied, unable to give her an answer right that second.

Instead, he tangled his hand in her hair as he pulled her down for a searing kiss, trying to avoid answering the question. The problem was his method of distraction worked wonders as he pulled her with him to make her straddle his hips. She knew exactly what he was doing, but he was already rubbing against her core as he lightly pulled her hair, knowing exactly how to turn her on. She responded in kind, grinding down on his growing shaft as she pressed her hands against his chest, her fingers curling to lightly scrape her nails against his skin. Daryl took a sharp breath through his nose as his hand gripped her hips and helped guide her against him. It didn't take too long before the kiss became a mingle of breath and he rolled them over, rubbing himself against her a few times before seating himself inside. Gentle kisses passed between them, their touches as soft and sensual as the slow way Daryl was thrusting inside her. It was a different type of intimacy that had them both pleading for release much faster than they had before, but the release was on a totally different level than normal, more intense. He stilled inside her as he released her lips, getting lost in her deep green eyes all over again as she breathed heavily beneath him.

Something must have been showing from his own as her hand moved around to his cheek, quietly telling him, "I'm okay, love. I'm right 'ere, D. Right 'ere."

Ani brought their lips back together as he began moving again, their kiss slow and gentle before he pulled out of her and turned them on their sides facing each other. She started falling back to sleep shortly after, laying on her stomach while he laid on his side, one hand rubbing her hip. He was finally able to think about what she had asked him, what she needed even though she was pregnant. It wasn't much of her to ask to keep doing what she had been since the beginning with foraging, hunting and runs. The fact that she was willing to sit out the fights as much as possible if it meant not being stuck behind the walls was a huge compromise on her part. Maggie wasn't staying back entirely, either, so it wasn't like Ani asking for the same treatment was a horrible thing. The thing was, Maggie wouldn't be going on anything dangerous; she'd be going scavenging and on runs that had already been laid out and were easy. Daryl was doubtful that Ani would be as lenient in what she would be willing to do such trivial tasks until she was further along. Even if he didn't like the idea of her going out, she was right that staying within the walls of Alexandria was something she simply couldn't do.

"You take me, Merle or Phia with you, if not more people than that," Daryl told her, rolling onto his side. "No more fightin', no goin' out alone."

"Ya agreein' now?" she asked with a yawn before she chuckled as he looked at her laying on her stomach, his hand tracing along her spine as she sighed and closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of his fingers.

"Don't like it, but you never liked being cooped up. Don't feel like fightin' you about it. Can't blame you for wantin' to go out, neither. But I don't like it," he told her.

Ani opened her eyes and leaned up on her elbows before reaching over and kissing Daryl for all it was worth. Pulling back, she looked him in the eyes and told him, "Thank ya, for undastandin'. I want ta fight, I want ta stay by ya side. But I know I can'. Not unless I absolutely have ta. Not now. Not 'til...Whateva happens, this baby has ta be born. They have ta savive," she said, her voice breaking as she buried her head in the pillows.

"They will, baby girl," Daryl assured her as he turned onto his side and wrapped himself around her, her shifting just enough to be facing him more than laying flat on her stomach. "I promise you, he will."

They drifted to sleep laying like that even as they registered the door opening and closing downstairs and people moving around, probably Merle or the kids. Neither really cared too much to move, opting instead to take a much needed nap after the previous night's excursion and the events that followed. Daryl woke up first, finding Ani tucked almost completely underneath him and carefully moving to press less weight on her. He didn't know what would hurt the baby but he was sure that his weight was double hers and that couldn't be good laying on top of her. He hadn't meant to wake her up, but the loss of his weight automatically had her stirring, lazily moving with him as he moved back to his side, draping her arm around him and sighing as she settled back down. It wasn't until her stomach growled loudly nearly at the same time as his that they began to earnestly move. Ani groaned at the fact that she had to get up just because she was hungry; she was really becoming addicted to the heat that seemed to emanate from Daryl at all times. She knew she wouldn't be able to sleep under him for much longer; while she didn't know when she would start showing, once she did, she wouldn't be able to sleep on her stomach.

"Hey, got a question for you," Ani said sleepily, remembering her craving from Hilltop as it roared to life, making her stomach rumble again.

The smirk that toyed on his lips as he looked at her looking at him was evident as he said, "Okay."

"Ya know how ta make squirrel fritters?" she asked, making him snort a chuckle into the pillows before looking back up at her.

"Where's this coming from?"

"Damn cows, thinkin' 'bout milk got me thinkin' 'bout squirrel fritters. Now that's all I can think 'bout. Squirrel fritters with a nice salad and a tall glass a milk. Can' have the milk, but I mean, squirrel fritters and salad..."

"Gonna think you're havin' a squirrel for a kid how much you eat it."

"Maybe I jus' got a Dixon in my belly tryin' ta make 'is daddy cook for 'im," she teased as she glanced up at him, making his eyes snap to her.

"Say that again," he said, his voice quiet but sharp, his eyes watching her every movement.

The soft smile and look of adoration that spread across her face melted him all over again as she turned towards him and said, "There's a Dixon in my belly that can' wait ta meet 'is daddy."

"Fuck, I love you," he said as he rolled her over, moving with her until he was hovering over her on his elbows before kissing a path down to the hard part of her stomach. "I love you," he repeated, kissing the area before working his way back up to her lips.

Rolling away from her as both their stomachs grumbled once more, he pulled his pants back on and all but pulled her from bed, making her laugh as he helped her into a pair of sweats. When he picked up his shirt, instead of putting it on over his head, he put it on her. She couldn't help the yelp that escaped her as Daryl picked her up bridal style and carried her downstairs. Ani was laughing in his arms as he carried her straight into the kitchen and sat her down on the kitchen island. He stood between her legs and gave her another kiss before stepping away to grab various items in the kitchen. Neither of them had even realized the young teen nor surly old soldier sitting at the table watching them. When Merle decided to clear his throat after Daryl stopped to give her another kiss, Ani had startled pretty harshly even as she grabbed one of the knives from the holder.

"Jesus, Merle! Don't you ever knock?!" Daryl asked, moving away from from Ani and back over to the stove.

"Didn't realize I needed to to enter my own house," he quipped back.

"Ain' ya house nah more. Not since ya moved in with Francine. Though, point's kind a moot since Phia could a jus' let ya in 'erself anyway," Ani stated, leaning back as she watched Daryl work, one hand propping her on the counter as the other ready to snatch a fritter as soon as it was ready.

Daryl couldn't help the proud smile he got on his face watching her, it only dampening when he noticed the hard look on Merle's face. Of course the man wasn't here just for something to eat or to check up on them; he was here because he was pissed. He was waiting for the right moment to talk to them about what happened, find out exactly how Ani had ended up in enemy hands and how Daryl had had to fight for his life. The only good thing that happened was that he'd gotten his bike back, something Merle had noticed as soon as he'd gotten back and pulled it from the truck. Whatever he'd been pissed about earlier that had him at odds with Ani had obviously been solved as Merle watched them, but that didn't change a damn thing about how he felt. Both his siblings had been put directly in harms way while he had been stuck playing sentry within a cage. They had made him stay behind when he would've been so much more useful out there in that mess. He could've stayed back with Ani and kept her safe, avoiding her being abducted and that scratch on her stomach from happening. He could've gone with Daryl had helped him make it out of that fire fight to get back to Ani faster and, once again, stopped her from being taken.

"So what happened?" he called out from the table, watching as Daryl cut the squirrels he and Sophia had brought in into quarters as grease was heating on the stove.

"We told you what happened," Daryl responded.

"Like hell you did! What'd they do to ya, Ani?"

"Got slapped, but that's 'bout it," she answered from her spot on the counter. "More worried 'bout Cars."

"Why are you worried about m—Cars?" Sophia asked, Ani smiling sadly at her.

"She'll always be ya momma, hunny. And she's havin' problems doin' what she's had ta do. I think...I think she's goin' through PTSD, if not Complex PTSD. Everythin' from 'er past, everythin' she's had ta do since the turn, the amount a people she's had ta kill. It's pilin' up even worse than what happened at the prison. She's losin' 'erself again."

"You think she's gonna run?" Daryl asked.

"I don' know yet. She's not been showin' anythin' since we got back, but it's all fake. Ya can tell she's jus' playin' nice ta play nice."

"Right now, she's over at Tobin's," Merle told her. "Now, back on track."

"They didn' do anythin' ta me, Merle. Well, the leada, Paula, she slapped me a couple time, but I did run my mouth off afta bein' told ta stay quiet and I might a said somethin' 'bout 'er kids not savivin' where mine and Maggie's will. So, I kind a deserved that one," she told him, crossing her legs and leaning forward a bit.

"Are you fuckin' kidding me?!" he shouted. "You seriously think you deserved to be slapped? The fuck's up with that?"

"Well, the first time, I'll give ya. There was nah reason ta slap me for tryin' ta tell 'er the truth. Second time, though, I really did deserve that one. I literally told 'er that jus' 'cause 'er kids didn' savive didn' mean ours wouldn'. Anyone who's lost a child and had someone throw it back in their face deserves ta get at least a slap in. I lodged a knife in 'er neck 'fore she could do much else, though," Ani said with a shrug of her shoulders.

"If that's supposed to make me feel better, it don't," Merle shot. "Your ass is stayin' in Alexandria from now on."

"Merle," she sighed, her hand going to the bridge of her nose before she meeting his eyes. "Look, already told Daryl I ain' goin' ta be doin' any more missions like that, but I ain' goin' ta be stuck behind the walls, eitha. Not yet, anyways. Though, if I do go out, ya goin' with me."

"Really now," he said, leaning back in his seat. "And if I refuse to go?"

"Phia can go with me."

"And if I don't let her go?"

"Uh, ya might be 'er Pops, but she's as free ta come and go as Carl is."

"I don't mind going with you, but I don't think it's a smart idea. Even Maggie has agreed to stay in Alexandria," Sophia said unhelpfully.

"She's agreed not ta go on anythin' but scavengin' runs. There's a difference. I ain' anybody but me and I ain' 'bout ta be cooped up. Be happy I agreed ta take someone with me, for fuck's sake! I agreed ta have a damn chaperone, that's goin' ta have ta do, guys," Ani told them as tears welled in her eyes.

"How'd she sucker you into lettin' her go along with this bullshit, anyway?" Merle asked Daryl as he watched the two.

"You remember what it was like last time I tried to force her to stay in one place? I ain't dealin' with that again. 'Specially not when she's pregnant. Barely fuckin' slept or ate."

"Oh, fuckin' hell. You two are gonna be the death of me. You ain't leavin' these walls without me, girly. No fuckin' way."

"Fine, dad," Ani sarcastically said, making everyone else snort. "But, seriously, I already promised D. What more do ya want from me?" she asked before the smell of the frying squirrel got to her. "Please tell me those're almost done."

"Hold your horses, girl," Daryl chided. "Got a few more minutes."

One advantage of expecting Ani was truly happy about was that people seemed to think that giving her a fresh supply of fruit and vegetables was important. She and Maggie both had been given large baskets with fresh produce in them to take home almost as soon as Olivia had cataloged the food from the RV. Ani had tried insisting that it was way too much food, but all those present had told her it was nonsense and that a woman expecting needed the vitamins and minerals. She'd had to accept the stuff after that and Daryl was pretty happy he could give her the better part of something she was craving. Ani hopped off the counter as he began chopping veggies for a salad, wrapping her arms around his middle and resting her head there. She wished that she was tall enough to put her chin on his shoulder, but that would require standing on her toes. Daryl called Sophia over and handed her the bowl with the salad as he turned back to the stove. Dishing out the first round of fritters, he put the second round in the pan before pulling out the plates while the girl came back for silverware.

Daryl couldn't help but think it was really like they were a family, well, as if they had been living together for years, not just weeks, in a real house with a real routine. When Sophia walked around him to grab glasses and took them to the table even as he cooked, he couldn't help but scoff and shake his head even as a smile played on his face. He caught Ani looking at him from across the room and shared a small smile with her, his heart fluttering at the fact that she was carrying his child. As he plated the fritters and brought them to the table, he walked straight to her and kissed her before sitting down next to her. Ani barely waited for him to sit before she was grabbing one of the fritters from the plate, playing hot potato for a moment before sticking it in her mouth. She practically moaned at the taste as she all but devouring it and grabbed a second one. It wasn't until she was half way through her third piece that she suddenly stopped eating and just looked at the wall in confusion. Daryl had just put some of the salad on her plate and was dishing some to Sophia when she'd stopped, looking at her in worry as she sat frozen before she looked down.

"You okay?" he asked.

"It's jus'...I think, uh..." she chuckled before bringing her hand to her stomach. "I think little D likes ya cookin'."

His eyes locking on her hand as he asked, "How can you tell?"

"Well, it feels like somethin's bubblin' 'ere. First few times I thought it was gas or somethin'. Explained it away. But, been happenin' too often ta be anythin', and it's where the wand thingy was when the doc was doin' the ultrasound. Feels like it's bubblin' up a storm now," she told him as his hand moved over to the area, both of them wishing he could feel what she was. "I think 'e really likes ya cookin'."

"Little D, huh?" Merle asked.

"Well, nah matta what, I'm havin' a little Dixon, so why not call 'em Little D?"

"Have you thought of any names?" Sophia asked.

"Hun, we jus' found out three days ago," Ani told her. "I'm still tryin' ta get used ta the idea that I got a person growin' in my belly."

"How far along are you?"

"Told ya, 'bout thirteen weeks, fourteen by now prolly."

"Will you be showing soon?"

"I don' know. I've neva been pregnant before. Lori said she was showin' earlia with Judy than she was with Carl, and she was showin' around what we were guessin' was 'bout eighteen weeks. So maybe a month or so more ta go?" Ani answered, not entirely sure herself.

While everyone had their fill, Ani truly ate more fritters than they'd expected, scarfing down eight of the damn things in a short amount of time. When the meal was finished, they went outside onto the porch where Ani curled herself onto Daryl's lap once again. He didn't even bother lighting a smoke even though that was the whole reason he'd come out. Ani scrunched up her nose and tried telling him they were outside and he could smoke, but he refused and told her he could wait. Sighing heavily, she got off him and went to sit by Sophia on the stairs, waiting until he was done with his smoke before going back to him. He wasn't overly thrilled that she moved right back to his lap the moment he was done, but she just leaned into him and breathed heavily, falling asleep shortly thereafter. Merle and Daryl shared a bit of a laugh at the thought of him being a human pillow, but Daryl admitted to not minding in the end. After all, if anyone had a right to use him as a pillow, it was the mother of his child that was sleeping soundly in his arms.

~x~

"So Ani's pregnant, too?" Carl asked as he walked through the woods with Sophia, the girl having told him about how Ani was able to eat half of the fritters Daryl had made herself, and he'd made three pans worth.

"Yeah. I'm surprised you didn't know already," she told him.

"Dad knows?"

"Yeah, and Michonne, and Abraham, Merle, me, mom."

"How long have they known?"

"The night before they left for the Hilltop."

"Oh, well, I guess I can't blame her for not saying anything to me yet. It's only been a couple days since then."

"It's not like Maggie's said anything, either."

"Yeah, but as much as Maggie's family, I don't know, she's not Ani. Like, I can talk to Ani about anything. She's been looking out for us since the beginning. I just thought, I dunno, maybe she'd tell me herself."

"She probably will. I just told you first. I told them about Maggie first, too."

"Do you ever think about the future?" Carl asked her as she pointed out a trail they were following, her crossbow loaded as they hunted in the woods, well, Sophia hunted; Carl was foraging various herbs and edibles.

"Sometimes," Sophia admitted. "I didn't really think I'd live this long, to be honest. When I got lost in the woods, before Ani found me. I thought I was dead."

"I'm glad you weren't," Carl told her, putting a hand on her shoulder and squeezing before clearing his throat and looking down at the trail. "Trail goes that way."

They followed along in silence for a little while, Carl trailing behind Sophia as he noticed the difference between Sophia and Enid. Where Enid was built thicker naturally and knew her way through the woods, it wasn't anything like Sophia. Sophia was lithe and already an inch taller than he was and her ability to hunt and forage, her willingness to help her family, was something to be admired. Sophia didn't exactly have the same curves as Enid, though that might be because she was a few years younger, but he couldn't help but appreciate the difference in personalities between the two as well. There was also the fact that Enid had become much more reserved since the horde had hit Alexandria. Sophia had become even more determined to keep the place safe, taking over a couple of the watches while he and Enid had been doing nothing important out in the woods. Hell, she'd been out hunting a few times a week and even if she didn't bring much meat back, she almost always brought back some more stuff for the infirmary or to greens to eat. Carl had to admit that between Enid and Sophia, Sophia had started taking up more space in his mind even when he was with Enid simply because she had stayed and fought while Enid had run. He'd been laying there shot while she was fight off the walkers to make sure he made it through the night and the walkers wouldn't go after the infirmary. She was fighting for the world to be theirs again while Enid considered the world to belong to the dead. If he had to choose between the two, he was learning which one he'd rather pick.

"Do you ever see yourself having a family?" Carl asked tentatively, the two of them crouched down by a log, looking out to see if they could find the deer they were tracking.

"Ssh," Sophia chastised, readying her bow before taking careful aim at something Carl couldn't quite see. Firing it, she turned to him with a bright smile before pulling him up and pulling him towards her prize, "Nailed it!"

"Great shot!" Carl said as he took in the deer with a bolt through its eyes. "But seriously, have you ever thought about it?"

Sophia looked at Carl and back down to her kill, grabbing the hind legs as Carl grabbed the front, "I don't think any boy will like me. I'm not like Enid or Beth. I'm not pretty and I might as well look like a stick. The only reason a boy might like me is 'cause I can fight, but that will probably scare them away, too. I mean, I'm not like Ani, but I did kill that guy that wanted to kill your dad. I get what Ani means when she talks about her hands never getting clean."

"You saved my dad. You saved me," Carl told her, pulling her back to look at her face. "I don't think that counts as blood on your hands. You were a hero that day, and that's, like, a thousand times cooler than just reading about them in the comics. It was you that saved us that day, Sophia. That saved me. You're kinda amazing."

"I'm nothin' special," she told him, her cheeks turning red at the confession. "I just did what Ani and Merle taught me to do."

"You are special," he told her, making her eyes snap to him. "Especially to me. Stop selling yourself short. I mean, I couldn't bag a deer like you just did."

"You talk too much," Sophia said, attempting to change the subject and missing Carl's smile behind her as they hauled the deer back to camp.

"So, have you thought about it?" he asked a third time.

Sophia stopped moving and adjusted her hold on the deer, turning her head just a little as she answered, "I've started to. Kinda thought, well, it might be nice, one day, to have a family, to do what Ani and Daryl are."

"So, do you like anyone?"

"Yeah, but I don't think he likes me," she answered honestly, looking straight ahead as the gate came into view.

"Why's that?"

"He likes someone else."