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top story: Your wait is finally over.

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Daryl was terrified as he watched his wife curled into a ball groaning in pain louder than she had ever done before. Even after the Parkers' attack, she barely used any pain relief and simply used her poultice to keep whatever pain she'd felt at bay. To see her being so weak and in so much pain as he paced back and forth waiting for the doctor to get there and wondering what the hell was taking him so long. It had already been seemingly forever since he'd helped Ani out of bed to use the restroom and a rush of water poured out of her. She'd started crying thinking she'd peed herself, but then the pain had started worse than ever and Daryl had forced her back onto the bed. He'd ran to the door and hollered down the hall for someone to get Carson before he walked back over to his wife and sat on the bed next to her. He rubbed her back in an attempt to help her with the pain, but she arched her back away from his hand as soon as he touched her. Daryl just laid down next to her and wrapped an arm around her, telling her the doctor would be there soon. She quieted down after a moment and asked him to get her some water while trying to roll onto her back only to be told to stay as she was until the doctor got there. It only took him as long as it took to get her a glass of water and a straw and move back over to the bed before she was curled up again.

It really did feel like an eternity before the door opened and Carson, Laura, Sophia, and Carl walked in and immediately began to move around. Carson had brought in the incubator Simon had brought to the Sanctuary and started setting it up close to the bed. Sophia and Carl grabbed Bobby and Catty and left the room for a few minutes before coming back in without them. Daryl nodded at the teens in gratitude since the bobcats were yowling and hissing at everyone but him and Sophia when she came in. They didn't go easily, based on the scratches both Sophia and Carl were covered in and the fact that they both had a few areas that were already bandaged. Sophia only shrugged her shoulders while Ani calmed down once again and was able to take a sip from the glass of water Daryl was still holding. Carson started asking questions about what had happened and how far apart the contractions were as he worked setting up the incubator. Ani was able to answer a couple of the questions and, for about three minutes, was able to relax completely while forgetting about the pain. It came back rather quickly, though, and she was as curled as she could be on her side once again.

"She supposed to be in this much pain?" Daryl asked Carson.

"Unfortunately, yes," the doctor answered. "When labor starts, it can sometimes go quickly, sometimes slowly. With her contractions being three minutes apart, this might go either way. We won't know until her water breaks."

"Already fuckin' did, dumbass. Or did ya ignore the fuckin' puddle a fuckin' liquid on the damn floor in front a the fuckin' bed?" Ani asked angrily.

Carson looked shocked and said, "I had assumed that you had spilled some water on the floor during one of your contractions. Since your water has already broken and your contractions are already close, there's a chance this baby will be born today."

"Well, nah shite, Sherlock!"

The doctor chuckled, "Some women go into labor and it can take days for their water to break and actually give birth."

"Days?!" Ani cried.

"Only if the water isn't broken. If it has broken, then we try to deliver the baby within twenty four hours to reduce the chance of infection for both the mother and child," he informed them, noticing both Dixons in front of him looking worried. "I need to check your cervix to see how dilated you are."

Ani grunted as she rolled over onto her back and the doctor helped her out of her sweatpants and placed a blanket over her to preserve as much of her dignity as he could given the situation. She still hated it when anyone but Daryl saw her most intimate parts and absolutely hated the doctor's checks, but she knew it was necessary. When he was done and informed them that she was already dilated to a three, which gave them another round of information about how dilation worked, he said it would probably be a few hours at the very least. New mothers rarely gave birth quickly and, usually, it would take anywhere from twelve hours and several days. It all depended on the woman's health, the size of the baby, and a thousand other unknown variables that could affect how long it took. Carson informed them of all of it as he placed a strap over her belly and connected the wires to yet another machine that he said would monitor the baby's heartbeat. He explained what the lines were on the screen and how it looked like Lou was doing just fine and was stress free at that time. He also explained that the second line monitored her contractions and how she was almost constantly having mini contractions. The pain hit Ani once again and the second line spiked high and stayed there in comparison to the small spikes that had been going up and down before. He monitored the line as she curled as best she could on her side, Daryl moving to lay down behind her and wrap his arm back around her.

"Ya a right fuckin' bastard, ya know that?" she asked him as she gripped his wrist and moved his arm so that his hand was under her chin.

"Yeah, I know," he replied.

He had been warned by Carson that she would cuss him out a lot during labor due to the pain and that it would get worse as the contractions got worse. It was difficult knowing that he was going to have to go through verbal abuse during the labor, but he knew that she had the most grueling part of the process. According to Carson, the opening in her cervix would only open to about ten centimeters and a baby's head was usually around fifteen to twenty centimeters. On top of that, she would have to push out the shoulders, which were wider than the head, though once they were out, the birth would practically be over. He would be able to assist her in pulling the baby the rest of the way out and she would only have the placenta to deliver afterwards. It was then that he had asked Daryl if he wanted to be the one to cut the umbilical cord once the baby was born, and he'd given a tentative 'yes.' He was worried he might mess it up, but Carson promised that he would make sure the cord was properly clamped and show him where to cut it. There wouldn't be any problem with him cutting the cord himself and fathers cut the cords all the time and had been for a long time. They both had been informed that skin on skin contact with the baby would help form a bond between parent and child as well. It would also help Ani in her production of breast milk and it was suggested that, after the birth, both of them spend time alone with the baby before they resume their duties as leaders. Merle, Eugene, and Jerry would take care of things for the time being and keep the two updated on whatever problems they had.

"I need ta get up," Ani told them around the third hour. "I need ta walk."

"No," Daryl told her immediately, only to be shot down by Carson.

"It might help the labor along, and she knows her body better than all of us."

"What if-"

"Shut the fuck up ya fuckin' gobshite and let me fuckin' walk!" Ani yelled at him, cutting him off. "If ya don' want ta help me, get the fuck out! I need ta fuckin' walk ya asshole!"

Daryl was taken aback, but didn't argue anymore and instead got up and walked around the bed to help her up. She moaned and leaned against him before starting to cry and apologize for telling him to get out and that she needed him there. He didn't say anything in return and simply wrapped an arm around her and helped her walk around the room for a few minutes before she stopped and cried out even louder than the moans she'd been making for the last hour. She grasped at his arms and leaned her head against his chest as tears streamed down her face and she started a stream of cussing including calling him a gobshite, a bastard, and an asshole, all within one sentence. Every curse she sent towards him was like a jab to the heart, but he kept telling himself that she was in more pain than she'd ever been in and didn't mean anything she was saying. It didn't help when she got back to the bed and had another spike on the machine and showed that she her contractions were only about thirty seconds apart. Carson asked her to lay on her back so that he could check her again, but instead immediately called for Sophia and Laura to hold her legs up and Daryl to sit behind her. They both freaked out only for Carson to tell them that she was crowning, meaning she was in the process of giving birth. He warned her that the pain will get worse and that she needed to push as soon as she had the next contraction considering the baby's head was already in the birth canal. After the second push, however, Ani started crying that she couldn't do it and that it hurt too much for her to continue. Between the doctor's insistence that she had to for both hers and the baby's survival and Daryl's words of encouragement in her ear, she pushed again at the next contraction.

She fell back against Daryl afterwards as the sound of a baby's cries filled the air, making Ani start crying even harder. Carson had the baby wrapped loosely in a blanket and handed him straight up to Ani's arms with Daryl's coming around to touch Lou, too. The death threats, the name calling, all of it was worth it to see his child in his wife's arms and hold them both. He was absolutely beautiful, with chubby cheeks, a full head of dark hair, and his tiny feet and hands waving around in the air. They were both crying as they stared at their baby and Ani apologized for every single name she had called him while Daryl started thanking her for their child and kissed her hair. It was an extremely emotional moment and Sophia walked over to them while staring at the baby that she'd helped deliver. Carl had stayed next to the door until the baby was born before walking over to the bed himself to look at the baby. They were all absolutely stunned, the delivery of Lou much different than the birth of Judith, and the emotions were running high in the room. Carson motioned for Daryl after about four minutes and he had clamped the umbilical cord so that he could cut it. He took the next few minutes to check on Lou and make sure everything was alright considering he was born early. He brought him back over to Daryl and Ani with a smile on his face before he handed him back to Ani.

"Well, the good thing is that you didn't tear and managed to give birth without any complications. He's seven pounds, three ounces, his heartbeat is steady, and his lungs are strong and healthy. As far as I can tell, he's full term."

"Full term?" Ani asked. "But...but it's only been thirty seven weeks. Ya said it's only been thirty seven weeks."

"Well, that's how pregnancy works. Unless you know for a fact when you conceived, there's no way of fully being able to tell how far along a pregnancy is."

"So, he's safe?" Daryl asked.

"As far as I can tell. Now, you need to try breastfeeding him," he told Ani. "I know how you feel about privacy, so I'll go out into the hallway, but make sure to get me if he has problems latching."

"Problems latching?" Ani asked. "How do I even get 'im ta latch? I don' know how ta do this. I...I..."

"Breathe, baby girl," Daryl told her, realizing that she was starting to panic with Lou in her arms.

"It's alright," Carson assured them. "Most new mothers have moments where they are scared because they don't know what to do. What's important to know is that the latch should be pain free and his chest should be to your stomach. His lips should be around more than just the nipple and his chin should be touching your breast. If you feed him skin to skin, it will help him latch better as well as help you with the let down of breastmilk. If he has problems, we do have a breast pump so that he can still get what he needs, but you should keep trying to get him to latch. If you can see him swallowing and his ears moving, he's latched on properly and getting milk. Make sure you have him nurse from both breasts so as not to get mastitis, or a clogged milk duct. It could lead to an infection," he told them before everyone but Daryl left the room.

"You did good," Daryl told her, kissing her forehead.

"How do I do this?" she asked quietly. "Why did I think I could be a motha?"

"You've been a mom since the start. Look at how much you did for Sophia. You've got this, baby girl. Just breathe."

Ani just looked at him as tears fell from her face until she nodded while handing Lou to Daryl before she removed her shirt to start trying to feed Lou. He handed him back to her afterwards and she just stared down at the little bundle in her arms before taking a shaky breath. It took a few times to get him to even notice her nipple in front of him, but once he did, he actively sought it out and began trying to latch. Everything the doctor said would make a good latch had taken another couple minutes to happen, but once it did, Ani let a small laugh break out of her through her tears. It felt like the world melted away as Daryl kept a hold of her and they watched their son as he suckled away. She felt a bit weird, having a baby attached to her breast, especially when Daryl had been the only one to even touch them since she had been a young teen. It was such a different feeling than she'd ever felt and was just completely enamored with the little bundle in her arms, the tears falling on his cheeks turning from fear to happiness. His tiny hand was resting on her breast and his eyes were barely open, the blue of Daryl's eyes shining up at them from Lou's. She felt a hot tear on her shoulder and turned her head to see Daryl crying as well, making her lean into him and start crying even harder.

"You did good," he told her. "He's beautiful."

"He's got ya eyes," she said as he stroked the boy's head gently.

"Your nose."

"How the hell can ya tell 'e's got my nose? He looks like a damn potato with dark hair and blue eyes. He's goin' ta be ya mini-me."

"If we're lucky, he'll be more like you," Daryl told her.

"Nah, that'd be unlucky. I don' want our kids ta be like me. I don' want 'im ta have my problems."

"You ain't got no damn problems 'cept the ones you think you got," he rebutted. "Smart, strong, hot as hell. You got it all, baby girl."

"Kinda feels weird hearin' ya call me that when I'm holdin' our baby in my arms," she laughed, turning her head towards him. "Don' stop, though. I love ya, D."

"Love you, too."

They sat in silence, watching the baby as he nursed, for several minutes before the door to their room slammed open and scared all three of them. Lou unlatched and started crying at the loud sound and Ani immediately turned her upper body to move him in between her and Daryl. Daryl, himself, had jumped up and leaned over his wife and son in a protective manner while his hand immediately drew his knife. He accidentally sliced Ani's arm as he did so, but neither of them even noticed in exchange for keeping Lou safe from whatever threat had barged into their room. They were both on edge after the height of emotions from labor and delivery and they were so concerned with keeping him safe. The thought of him getting hurt was at the forefront of both of their minds and all they wanted to do was make sure that, if they were under attack, he stayed alive. After everything that had happened during the pregnancy, the war and the problems with her blood pressure followed by the scare of early labor, Ani was already overly scared of being a mother. Part of it was because of her mother's upbringing, part of it was because of her own violent tendencies when angered, but the biggest part of it was the fact that she was already terrified of something happening to her son. Daryl was just as scared of being a father, but the fear he felt was overshadowed by the fact that he was going to protect his wife and son with his life if he had to. Neither of them relaxed for a full minute after the loud bang of the door, even after realizing who had come in.

"Where's my nephew?!" Merle shouted, prompting both Daryl and Ani to start yelling at him at the same time.

"Why the hell would you just barge in like that?!" Daryl yelled at him.

"What the fuck is wrong with ya, asshole?!" Ani shouted. "I'm half fuckin' naked and ya jus' come in like a fuckin' madman?! Get the fuck out, ya dirty rat bastard!"

"Ah, hell, you ain't got shit I ain't seen before."

"I DON' FUCKIN' CARE!" she shouted even louder, pulling Daryl's knife out of his hand and chucking it at him as she repeated, "Get the fuck out!"

Merle had the good grace to only duck and let the blade clatter out into the hallway before standing back up and shutting the door behind him. He wasn't going to let the feisty little girl keep him from congratulating the pair and seeing his nephew. He really didn't care that she was naked because he'd already seen her without a shirt a few times thanks to his tendency of coming into their room uninvited. It wasn't that he didn't know how to knock, he'd just been way too excited to meet his nephew after hearing from Sophia that he'd been born about an hour ago. He'd been out hunting and had only just come back after being out for a week and barely finding more than squirrels, some raccoons, and a couple foxes out there. Merle had brought it all back in a truck along with some more ammunition and canned goods he'd found out in a small, abandoned hunting shack he'd found about sixty miles out. He had only supposed to go around twenty to twenty five, but the game in the area had been damn near non-existent and he'd pressed on. Now, he wished he had stayed closer to home so that he could have potentially made it back to the Sanctuary while she was in labor and not find about it after the baby was already born. He walked over to the bed where the pair of parents finally relaxed enough so that Ani moved Lou so that she could nurse him from the other side as the doctor had told her to do.

"What happened to your arm?" he asked, both Daryl and Ani looking over to see the trickle of blood.

"Shit, baby girl. I didn't mean to get you," Daryl said, immediately going to get a cloth and gently cleaning the cut.

"It's fine. Didn' even feel it," she replied, going back to watching the baby in awe.

"Damn, he's bigger than I thought he'd be," Merle said. "How the hell'd you push that thing out?"

"Ya call my son a 'thing' again and ya'll be missin' ya favorite thing," she warned him, making him hold his hands up in surrender.

"Damn, girl, you don't gotta go that far," he told her. "How you feelin' anyway?"

"Like I jus' shoved a fuckin' watamelon out a my cooch," she said. "I'm tired. My body is tired. But I'm happy."

"Huh. Can I hold him?"

"Fuck nah! Don' know where ya been, don' smell like ya've been rollin' in dung for days. 'Sides, he ain' done eatin' and I ain' givin' 'im ta nah one but D," Ani told him in a hard and harsh tone.

"Oh hell, don't go all crazy mama bear on us, now."

"I'm goin' ta do whateva I can do ta keep 'im safe. I ain' lettin' shite happen ta 'im. Not as long as I'm breathin'."

"Makes two of us," Daryl piped up while glaring at Merle; while Ani had partially covered herself by going back to suckling, he could tell she was irritated with his brother for not leaving already.

"Alright, I get it. I get it. Nobody touches the baby but the two of ya, is that how it is?"

"'Til I'm ready, yeah," Ani told him.

"Oh, shit. This gonna be another one of those times like after the wall broke in Alexandria, that it? Not lettin' him outta your sight or outta arms reach?"

"Yes, Merle!" she growled out. "And don' ya fuckin' say shite 'bout it! Lou ain' some fuckin' trophy ta be passed 'round or needin' ta be 'round all them assholes! I don' even want ta be 'ere, so ya keep ya fuckin' trap shut 'bout me and D not wantin' Lou out a our sights!"

"Alright, alright," Merle said with his hand and stump in the air. "What'd the doc say 'bout him bein' born early?"

"Says he wasn't," Daryl answered.

"Really now? That's good."

"Yeah, it is," Ani answered. "Now ya mind gettin' the fuck out so we can be alone with our kid? Even Carson said ta bond with 'im without othas 'round for a few days."

"I'll bring you some food a little later, or is that not allowed either?" he sarcastically shot at her.

"Fuck off, Merle," was his reply.

"Thanks," Daryl told him, his eyes not even bothering to move to his brother from his wife and child.

"He's an ass," Ani told him.

"'Least he meant well. What're you doin'?" he asked as Ani moved Lou to her shoulder and gently started patting his back.

"Burpin' 'im. Might not a known how ta do the breastfeedin' bit, but babies need burpin' afta they eat. Too much air builds up, causes gas. It gets painful for 'em. Jesse's sista, she had a baby. I didn' really do much 'less we were ova there, but that's what she told me first time she let me feed 'er. Said, 'Burp 'em 'til they burp twice," she told him. "Do ya want ta do it?"

Daryl looked at her for a moment before nodding his head and Ani carefully handed him over while telling him how to do it. Seeing him holding Lou brought tears to her eyes and reminded her of the first time he'd held Judith and the proud smile he had on his face then was nothing in comparison to the one he held now. He beamed down at her while shifting his weight back and forth and tapping his back as he tried to get Lou to burp. When he finally did, Ani couldn't help but snort a laugh at him because the baby had spat up a bit of milk. The color clashed greatly with his vest and the face he made was comical with how much his nose scrunched at the sight. He asked if it was supposed to smell so bad as he handed Lou back to Ani and watched her chuckling at him, her smile making him smile back. She warned him that if he thought spit up and baby burps smelled bad then he was absolutely going to hate when he had to change his diaper. He sat back on the bed and held Ani as she leaned against him watching Lou drift to sleep in her arms. The bassinet was on her side of the bed and he helped her sit up enough to lean over and put him in it before snuggling into Daryl once again with a yawn.

"You should get some sleep," he told her.

"We both should. Goin' ta be a lot a late nights and early mornin's for a good long while."

"How long?"

"How the fuck should I know?" Ani asked incredulously. "We're both in ova our heads, ain' we?"

"Naw, we got this. You got this," Daryl said, kissing her hair. "I love you, Ania. Now and forever, got it?"

"I love ya, too, D," she mumbled softly, succumbing to the fatigue she had been feeling since the birth. "I love ya."