top story: Thank you! I really wanted just a nice chapter where everyone was gathered together again without fighting.

Light Switch: Things will definitely change as time goes on. It just will take time.

To my dear guest commentor: Yes. Negan really caused a lot of problems for everyone and Rick didn't really help solve them in the end. At least Negan mellowed out in the last season.

Ani and Daryl were impatiently waiting for Carson to speak now that he had examined her after she had woken up in a lot of pain and the pair freaked out. She'd been curled on her side when she woke up and had pain shooting through her abdomen and quickly woke Daryl up. He'd gone running towards the doctor to get her to their room before running to Merle's to send him headed to the Hilltop to bring the OBGYN over. She was only at thirty three weeks and shouldn't be in pain at all, and the fact that the doctor was very little help when it came to explaining things. 'Braxton Hicks' was what she called it and all Ani could think about was the fact that Lori had something about not having them before Judith was born. Neither of them trusted the doctor, though, when all she could do was give her best guess rather than have a concrete answer. Merle had sped off on her ATV in order to get there and back in the shortest amount of time by cutting through the woods that he wouldn't have been able to do with a car or truck. Daryl hadn't let Ani move after he got back to the room and, being honest, she didn't want to move with how uncomfortable the pressure in her lower abdomen was. She was scared that she would start having the same cramps that she had woken up with if she left the bed and tried walking. They were both scared as all hell over the thought of her going into labor when it was way too early for Lou to be born.

"It'll be alright, baby girl," Daryl mumbled around the thumb he was biting as he stood next to their bed with his arms crossed.

Ani didn't respond; she couldn't because she was so scared about what might happen, but the doctor asked if she was still in pain. She shook her head as Laura came into the room; her small amount of medical training would allow her to be able to, at the very least, assist in delivery if the worst happened. Merle finally rang through on the walkie letting them know that he had Carson and was heading back, both of them wearing thick clothes in an attempt to combat the freezing temperatures. Sophia threw another piece of wood into the small barrel in their room that kept it heated in an attempt to keep Ani warm so she didn't start shivering and make whatever had happened happen again. Carson had told Enid to take care of his patients that needed ongoing care until he got back after hearing what was going on with Ani. Maggie had told him to leave, herself, as soon as she heard what was happening and told them she'd send Simon out a little later with more medical supplies and formula. No one simply assumed the doctor would be heading back to the Hilltop any time soon if she truly was going into labor like Merle decided to tell them. He didn't even know if that was what was happening, but literally everybody who heard about what was the situation assumed the worst. No one was willing to take the risk after everything that had happened earlier in the pregnancy and the problems she had had with her blood pressure and anemia.

It seemed like an eternity before Merle busted through the door and, unhelpfully, informed them, "Carson's here."

Daryl quickly pushed him out of the way and pulled Carson right into the room and over to Ani's bedside while explaining to him what had happened. The problem was that the other doctor, Sophia, and Daryl were all talking at the same time and it took a moment for him to understand what was going on. As soon as he did, though, he immediately got to work checking her vitals and asking her to lay on her back so that he could get a better feel of her stomach. The baby was obviously head down and in the proper position for birth, which concerned him some because of how far away from term she was. Usually, babies dropped a mere few weeks away from delivery and, even adding the normal two weeks a due date could be off, it was far too early for the baby to be in such a position. Her blood pressure had also gone back up and her heart rate was elevated, both signs he was very obviously worried about as Daryl watched on. Carson told everyone but Daryl to leave the room so that he could perform a few other exams, including checking her cervix and whether or not she might have a leak in her water. Daryl watched him with a worried eye as he completed his internal examination and moved over to the small sonogram machine Merle and Abraham had managed to find at a smaller clinic in a few towns over. Lou's strong heartbeat filled the room and brought tears to Ani's eyes after being scared to death that something bad was happening with him. However, as Carson watched the screen, he noticed the fact that she was having minor contractions and realized that he would have to send word to the Hilltop to tell them he was staying at the Sanctuary until the baby was born.

"Have you experienced any cramps or anything before today?"

"Nah, not like this mornin'. A bit like I would get the day 'fore I'd start my period, but nothin' else."

"Describe it to me in detail, please."

"Uh...I don' know. My stomach would feel a bit tight for a second or two and then it'd go away. Wasn' painful, jus' a little uncomfortable."

"And how often would these occur?"

"Maybe two, three times a day at first," Ani told him, looking to Daryl to double check that she was remembering right. "Maybe a couple times an hour if I was up and about."

"I made her stop walkin' around so much," he added. "Wasn't takin' any chances."

"Were you not following my previous instructions?"

"I did! I didn' stand for more'n thirty minutes and I didn' walk 'round as much. I did what I was s'pposed ta."

"Alright, we can rule that out as a possible cause," Carson said. "Have you been spotting?"

"Nah, nothin' like that. Thought it might a been Braxton Hicks," she said. "I don' know what any a it is s'pposed ta feel like. I thought it was normal."

"Normally it would be," Carson informed them. "However, you are already dilated to 1 and having true contractions, no matter how few and far between. They might be minor now, but I worry that it will become a problem in the near future and that there is a chance that you could go into preterm labor. I'm afraid it might be too late to prevent you from delivering before your due date, but for now, I'm putting you on strict bed rest. No moving around without someone with you, preferably using a wheelchair rather than walking. Try to avoid anything that will add stress to you. Between the war and the fact that your mental state has been taxed since long before it, this most likely would have happened anyway."

"Why?" Ani asked with tears in her eyes. "Maggie has had it jus' as bad, had a tear in 'er placenta, and she's jus' fine!"

"I understand your frustration, but every woman and every pregnancy is different. You've had problems with high blood pressure since before the war ended. Being in this place can't be helpful, either. You've also been dealing with a lot more stress trying to take control of the Sanctuary and make it a functioning community," he reasoned. "While it was difficult and stressful for Maggie to take over, there was no resistance unlike you had to deal with and she did not run around trying to fix all the problems between people like you did."

"So this is my fault. I should a jus'-"

"It's no one's fault. Before you got to Alexandria, you were on the road for quite some time and during that time you were barely able to eat, correct?" he asked, to which both nodded. "And you didn't find out about your pregnancy until you were practically in your second trimester. During that time, you were both malnourished and dehydrated. Your body has done a good job providing for the baby's needs, but the issues started long ago. The chances of your baby surviving if he's born now is very high. As long as we can keep labor off for at least a week, there will be next to no problems if the baby is born. While I did not see any warning signs of it, I'm not entirely surprised this is happening."

"What does that mean?" Ani asked.

"Between the physical tax your body has gone through between the malnourishment and dehydration and the war, especially the panic attack you dealt with during the attack on Alexandria, the possibility of early labor was always on the table. Everything that you have been through, your body has done a very good job at protecting and carrying your child. You had contractions during the attack that almost put you into labor at that time, which most likely weakened your uterine muscles. Whatever Braxton Hicks you were experiencing have probably restarted the contractions. While I can't be certain that that is what happened, I truly believe that there was nothing that would have prevented this given the circumstances. However, we have ways of staving off labor for as long as we can, even without the right medication to fully stop it from happening."

"They're gonna be fine?" Daryl affirmed.

"I don't see why they won't. Still, we want to be as close to thirty nine weeks as possible before birth. I'm not too worried, but I still don't want you up and walking. Stay in bed, propped up, but not fully sitting up. Again, I don't believe that there will be any major complications if the baby is born now, but we still want to hold it off as long as possible. As soon as the contractions start becoming five minutes apart and it lasts for an hour, come and get me. That'll be when the baby will be born. Until then, just rest and stay off your feet."

"Thanks, doc," he told him, giving him a nod as he left the room, turning around to find his wife bawling and apologizing to him for everything. He sighed as he went over to the bed and laid down next to her, pulling her into his chest, "Stop. Even Carson said he wasn't surprised."

"Why didn' 'e tell us?"

"Shit, I don't know."

"It's all my fault," Ani cried. "If I wasn'...If I didn'...I should a jus' stayed at the Hilltop. I shouldn' a fought in the war. I should a jus'...I'm sorry. I can' do nothin' right."

"Doc said it might've happened. Ain't fuckin' happy. Ain't gonna lie and act like it's all fine. But it ain't your fault," he told her. "You've barely been doin' anything the last couple weeks. Hell, last month and a half. Did what the doc said, took it easy. Last big thing you did was that fight. Ain't nothin' on you for this. Been good since then. Ain't on you."

Ani just nodded and turned her face into his chest and just cried while continuing to apologize for not being good enough and not listening to him. Daryl wasn't happy at all about what was happening, but there was no point in being hard on her when it the last thing she needed and even the doctor said he had expected it as a possibility. Besides that, he felt partially responsible for the fact that it had gotten so bad because, when she first spoke about the mild cramping and constant back pain, he hadn't pressed the issue. They both had thought it was just a normal part of pregnancy and nothing more than the practice contractions they had been warned about. Even the Sanctuary's doctor hadn't found anything to be concerned about when she had checked Ani out just three days ago. How everything had gone tails up in such a short amount of time that she woke up in extreme pain was beyond his understanding. They had seven weeks to go and they might not even make it that long before Lou was brought into the world. He didn't understand why Carson wouldn't warn them about the entire thing, but thinking back, they had been told more than once after the sewers that she could go into labor. Daryl couldn't believe how stupid they had both been to not take those warnings as seriously as they should have and had become complacent in their worry about it all. The more he thought about it and listened to her cry, the angrier he became at himself for not doing more to take care of her and heed that warning after things had settled down. She'd done everything right for the last month and a half and it simply didn't matter in the end.

"I'm sorry," Ani said again. "I should a listened all those times ya told me not ta do shite. I shouldn' a taken the risk. I thought...I thought Maggie bein' fine meant I'd be fine, too. Thought it was ova. Thought this wouldn'...I don' know what the fuck I was thinkin' thinkin' I could keep doin' everythin' I thought I needed ta."

"Carson said it. Coulda happened anyway. Just stay in bed. I'll take care of everything."

"I been!" she cried. "And this still...What are we gonna do? Lou gets 'ere too early, if 'is lungs ain' good...we don' have what we need ta keep 'im healthy."

"Stop," Daryl told her. "Can't be thinkin' like that. Ain't gonna do us no good. Gotta calm down. Sooner you calm down, better for Lou, right? Gotta calm down."

"I'm sorry," she repeated, turning her face even further into his chest.

She felt absolutely gutted and guilty for how things had turned out throughout the entirety of her pregnancy. First, she hadn't even known that she was pregnant whatsoever and had been extremely careless at Terminus because of it. Then, she refused to back down during the war, not wanting to deal with the thought that she was letting everyone down by sitting it out. She continued to work even though Daryl had asked her to take a break and do less for everyone else. Even after she had done what the doctor had told her to and relaxed more while only being on her feet for a few minutes at a time, her body was still working against her. She had even stopped trying to protest against Daryl doing things for her because he had been so adamant about letting him take care of her until the baby was born. Ani knew she had messed up during her first trimester because she didn't even know and hadn't thought much of the affect everything else had taken on her body and, now, their son might pay the price. It was all her fault as she cried into his shirt and she just knew he was blaming her, too, and holding her responsible for not listening to him. She didn't blame him one bit and was certain that the entire reason he was still lying next to her and not yelling at her was because of the possible outcome for Lou.

Daryl sighed, and tried to reassure her, knowing how negative her mind could get when she got upset, "Ain't your fault."

"Yeah it is. If I'd a listened, if I'd a stopped-"

"Coulda happened anyway. Doc said it himself. You did what you shoulda. Can't do anythin' more'n that. Ain't angry at you, neither."

"But ya said-"

"I know what I said," he shot back a little heated. "Don't mean I'm angry at you. Hell, ain't like I didn't know you were havin' cramps and shit. Fuckin' doc here said you were fine. Should've gone to the Hilltop when you said somethin' to begin with. Ain't just on you."

"It is on me, though. It's my body, my mind, causin' all this ta happen. If I was jus' a normal person and I didn' have all these issues, maybe...maybe none a this would be happenin'."

"Maybe it would've. Can't know for sure. Carson wasn't even sure if it was gonna happen. Can't be blamin' yourself right now. You gotta calm down."

~x~

"How is she?" Sophia asked Carson as soon as he left the room.

"She should be fine as long as she continues to rest," he told her.

"What happened?" Merle pressed.

Carson took a deep breath and let them know, "Ani is having mild contractions and could possibly go into labor if put under any more stress. She is on strict bed rest and will require a lot of help. The goal is to stave off labor for as long as we can."

"Is that even possible?" Laura asked. "Without meds, I mean...will rest alone really help?"

"I don't know," he replied. "Without tocolytics, all we can do is hope that bed rest will keep the contractions from getting worse."

"Dumb bitch shoulda just listened when we told 'er to stop her bullshit," Merle complained.

"There is a chance that this would have happened anyway," Carson countered. "The truth is that she had already almost gone into labor once before. While it wasn't true contractions at the time, the likelihood that they weakened her uterine wall is very high. Like I told her and Daryl, I am surprised she has been able to keep the pregnancy as long as she has. Physical strain, malnutrition, dehydration, stress...There have been several factors in her pregnancy that could have lead to her potential for preterm labor now. I strongly suggest that, rather than blame her for her current condition, you realize that this was a possibility since the beginning."

"You put a lot of stress on her, too, Pops," Sophia shot at him. "Or did you forget how she had to knock you out for you to stop bitchin' at her all the time?"

"I...you..." Merle stammered, though even he knew he couldn't argue back.

Merle knew that he had yelled at Ani a lot over how much she had been doing and how often he had gotten angry at her. She was pregnant with his nephew and, after everything he and Daryl had gone through, he had become as overprotective of her as he was of his baby brother. After watching his own mother struggle with her pregnancy with Daryl and watching Ani down in the tunnels in Alexandria, he had tried to make her do things his way. He had continued to push her even after Daryl had decided to back off and Sophia was right that he hadn't stopped until Ani knocked him out. She had warned both him and Daryl several times that they were stressing her out in not so many words and he had decided to just ignore her. Even Daryl had told him to back off at one point, telling him that she didn't need the stress they were adding to her, and he still had pressed on. It had taken them coming to the Sanctuary and her taking on less responsibilities for him to stop yelling at her for working while pregnant. And he still blamed her for a lot of what had happened with the fight at the Sanctuary and when she and Daryl had taken the last trip to the Hilltop with the intention of getting her checked out. It wasn't until she had taken the doctor's orders about bed rest that he began forgiving her for pushing herself when he was only now realizing that he had been the that put the most stress on her.

Sophia was still staring him down looking angry, too; the little girl had become more and more like Ani in the weeks after the war. Everything she had seen her mom go through for so long and how much she had done for everyone else, how could she not be angry at her Pops for putting the blame on Ani. She had already pointed it out several times, as well, since before they had made a large scale attack on the Sanctuary and she had caught Ani crying when the brothers were out of eyesight and earshot. It always angered her when Merle blamed her and she had been being more and more vocal about it when she heard him once they had settled into their new home. There was always something that was considered Ani's fault in Merle's mind and Sophia was sick of it. Ani was going through something that sounded like it came out of a nightmare and it had to do with her little brother. Even the doctor didn't think she was to blame, but Merle was putting it all on her shoulders as if Ani wanted it to happen. It wasn't fair to Ani and it was obvious with how her Pops was looking at her that he was angry at her for pointing out his own possible involvement in what was happening. He couldn't argue with what she had said, though, and she knew Merle knew just as much as she did that it was a matter of fact, not opinion.

"She told you that you were stressin' her out, but you didn't care!" she continued. "You always blame her! Always! Why? Why do you always think it's always her fault?!"

"You saw how she ran around after those damn tunnels! She already had this shit happen once and she didn't fuckin' listen back then!"

"She did! She changed so much because Daryl and you wanted her to stop! She quit doin' a lot of things! She did so much because she wanted you two to stop, to understand that she was tryin' to do what you guys wanted. But all you did was yell at her!" Sophia shouted. "If you want to blame her, look in the damn mirror!"

Merle stood there open mouthed as he watched Sophia run down the hall, Carson breaking the awkward silence by saying, "It seems like the apple didn't fall far from the tree with that one."

"What do you know about it?" he shot back before walking off himself, cussing under his breath the entire way. "Stupid little bitch. Thinks she can tell me off. Fuckin' Dixon women! Always gotta be pain in the asses! Dumbass fox takin' my brother and saddlin' me with that brat! That fuckin' brat actin' all high and mighty! Stupid fuckin' bitches!"

He stormed off and walked out of the Sanctuary only to turn around and punch a wall out of anger, hurting his hand in the process and making him curse even more. Shaking his hand and wiping the blood off on his pant leg, he pulled out a pack of smokes and took one out. He leaned against the wall and took a hit from it as he thought about the words Sophia had thrown his way. The little girl had a good damn point and Merle hated that she'd thrown it in his face that he, himself, had caused part of Ani's issues. It had been bad enough when she tried chewing him out in private and he just brushed it off as her being overly attached to the woman she'd taken to calling mom. Merle pounded the wall behind him and let out a few curses all over again before finishing his smoke and lighting another one. Honestly, the most annoying part of the words Sophia had imparted on him was that he knew that she was right. It was still the last thing he wanted to hear and he had almost never been called out without resorting to violence in return for words. The little girl was lucky she was just a little girl or he would have thrown a punch, though a part of him knew he wouldn't land it. Ani might have stopped training and fighting herself, but the woman had never stopped coaching Sophia and Beth on mixed martial arts during the war.

"What's got your panties all in a bunch?"

"The fuck you doin' here, Simon?" Merle asked, noticing the man standing by his car in the courtyard below.

"I come bearing gifts," he replied with that weird ass smile of his. "Or should I say tools."

"Don't need no fuckin' tools."

"Oh, I don't know. We raided a hospital a couple months back. Carson thought it might be a good idea to check the neonatal units, and ho-ly shit. Thought we might need this stuff for Maggie, but looks like little Ani's gonna need it first."

"What'd you bring?"

"Incubator, oxygen masks and tanks, a few other odds and ends meant to help a baby. Stuff Carson left in a list for me to bring. What's goin' on with Ani that she needs all this?" Simon asked.

"Bitch might have the baby now," Merle told him. "Did too fuckin' much and now she's havin' contractions. Told her to stop. Daryl and I both did. And did she listen?! Hell no! She just kept doin' 'er own thing! Stupid little bitch's actions leave my nephew fucked, I ain't holdin' back! I'll beat the shit outta her and lock her ass up!"

"You don't mean that," Simon said in a casual tone.

"Glad you fuckin' think that."

"Merle, you're so damn protective of that woman that you'd die for her. Don't try to lie. It's the same with all you Dixons. All you know how to do is be angry at 'em or tryinna shelter 'em. Hell, I dare say you'd keep her and the girl safe over your brother."

"Well, no shit," Merle shot at him. "I ain't gonna let shit happen to those two. Least 'til the baby gets here."

"Think everyone's gonna be protective of that baby. You should see how Gracie's treated in Alexandria. Between her and Judy, 'til those babies are born, they're the youngest survivors most of us have seen. Not many babies bein' born nowadays. Hell, not a lot of little kids, period. Gotta keep the ones alive around."

"I know that. I ain't stupid."

"No, but you can be an idiot," Simon told him. "Why don't we go check on Ani?"

Merle grumbled but threw out his cigarette and followed the other man into the building and up to the his siblings' room. Knocking on the door, he heard Daryl tell them to come in, entering the room only to see the pair lying on the bed with Ani silently bawling her eyes out. Daryl was just laying there rubbing her back and letting her cry into his chest while he was staring at the ceiling blankly. It was obvious that they were both extremely shaken up by the predicament they were in and Merle could only sigh and slump his shoulders at the sight of them. He crossed his arms and leaned against the rail of the crib while watching them both worrying about the baby and what they were going to do. He wanted to bitch them both out for everything, Ani for not heeding their warning and Daryl for eventually giving into her demands. Seeing them having their own crisis about the situation, though, he couldn't help but wonder when the hell he became so soft on his siblings. There really was nothing he could say that would make them feel any worse than they were obviously feeling at the moment. It didn't stop him from continuing to grumble his grievances under his breath and still cursing the two for their stupidity.

"You doin' alright, sweetheart?" Simon asked, putting the incubator in their room next to the counter. When Ani shook her head, he told them, "Well, we got some stuff here that'll help the baby if you need it. You've got Bethy to thank for this. Mentioned a hospital a town or two over. Checked it and, damn, got a lot of stuff. Brought some antibiotics, some pain meds, stuff to help with the delivery."

"Thanks," Daryl told him.

"What the fuck happened?" Merle asked angrily.

Daryl looked at him with a scowl and explained the situation, ending with, "Should've gone to the Hilltop a week ago. Been havin' cramps but not even the doc here thought anythin' of it."

"Let me get this straight, you knew she was havin' issues and didn't go to the doctor that fuckin' knows this shit?!"

"Fuck off, Merle!" Ani shouted, going to sit up only for Daryl to hold her to him. "How the fuck were we s'pposed ta know shite when the doc didn' even know?!"

"Stop," Daryl said. "You gotta keep calm," he told Ani, turning his gaze back to his brother. "You can't keep your fuckin' mouth shut, get the hell out of our room. She don't need an asshole tryin' to blame her for this bullshit."

"Del was the same way," Simon told Merle, gaining all three Dixons' attention. "She thought she was having Braxton Hicks and then, boom! Labor at 37 weeks. These things happen on their own time. How far apart are your contractions?" he asked Ani.

"Only a couple an hour or so apart," Daryl answered for her. "Doc says as long as it's not every five minutes for an hour, she won't fully go into labor."

"Yup, sounds about right. Though, might take her a while to give birth. Del went through three days of labor before my Annie was born. Oh, I brought a heating pad! Might come in handy afterwards."

"Thanks."

"Not a problem," he told them. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some business with Carson," he said right before leaving the room.

"You step one fuckin' toe outta this room, you're gettin' locked in this fuckin' room!" Merle shot at them.

"She can't even leave the bed," Daryl deadpanned.

"I don't give a single damn fuck whether or not she can leave the bed! She leaves the room, you're both bein' locked in! I don't give two shits if it causes problems in the Sanctuary!"

"Ya can' do that," Ani said as she propped herself up, her voice hoarse from crying. "The Sanctuary would fall if we can' work on it. I don' mind if it's done in 'ere, but ya need D. Ya too hot headed ta keep control on ya own, Eugene's too much a coward, and Jerry don' know 'nough people ta be able ta keep it all unda control."

"You sayin' I can't keep my head?!"

"Uh, look at how ya actin' now. Ya need D ta be involved in the plannin' and that means havin' ta leave the room sometimes."

"I ain't leavin' you here alone," Daryl said harshly.

"Neva said ya had ta. Ya know Phia won' mind bein' in 'ere with me if ya have ta go out."

"I don't like it."

"Me neither," Merle added.

"Tough shite. We got ta keep this damn place goin' and I need ta stay 'ere," she told them. "If this place falls, who do ya think will get the blame for it? I'll be in the clear 'cause a the pregnancy, but how do ya think Rick'll be towards the two a ya if the Sanctuary falls. We don' need that. We got too much ta worry 'bout right now. I can' be worryin' 'bout what'll happen ta the two a ya if this place can' stay up and runnin'." The two men fell silent as she continued, "I can'...I can' be the reason the two a ya get in trouble. I been trouble 'nough for ya both. I can' let ya stop doin' what ya need ta jus' 'cause I'm down for the count." Both Merle and Daryl looked at her for a bit, gave each other a look, and then at her and just nodded, making her smile, "Thank ya. Both a ya."

"You leave this room without someone with her, I'm gonna kick your ass, boy," Merle threatened Daryl.

Daryl scoffed and looked him dead in the eye, "You do anythin' to make her upset again, I'll kick yours. Keep your mouth shut about all this, or get out of our damn room. She don't need your bullshit. You say one fuckin' thing out of line from now on, I'm gonna knock your teeth out."