Top Story: I had to show off that Ani's still got it...^_^

DarkWorld67: SSSHHHHHH! Don't be stealin' my ideas! ROFLMAO! Already kinda had that planned...but...not sayinig who it is that drew it...*evil grin*

Daryl was wondering when Ani would get back to the room after he told her to get some fresh air because she needed a break. Lou had been overly fussy the last couple of days and had spent the better part of the day crying with Ani trying to do everything in her power to get him to stop. She'd sung to him, rocked him almost constantly, whether in the rocker or while she was pacing, fed him, burped him, changed him. Nothing had worked to get him to stop and the only thing Ani could even think was wrong with him was that he had been a little extra gassy the last couple days. She blamed herself for it because she had gotten a bit overzealous with spicy jerky Sophia had brought back from Alexandria, completely forgetting that what she ate affected her breastmilk. It had been something Carson had warned her about before he left, but the jerky was her favorite and she had gorged herself on it. Now, it appeared that Lou was suffering the consequences and she felt like the shittiest parent in the world after the first night and him becoming fussier as time went on. He'd sent her outside for a short walk to clear her head when he'd come into the room to find her crying her eyes out and muttering to herself that Janice had been right. Daryl had told her to knock it off right then and there and that she was the best mom Lou could ask for before telling her to get some fresh air and taking Lou from her. He was starting to wonder what the hell he had been thinking sending her out and away from Lou for a little bit considering he was even less help and the boy seemed to cry more when he was holding him.

"I'm back," Ani said, opening the door and coming in with a small basket of clean clothes. "He kept cryin', didn' 'e?"

"What do you think? What took you so long?"

"Went ta get some clothes for us. Most a ours has spit up on it and a lot a 'is smells a shite and piss. Wanted somethin' fresh ta sleep in," she explained as she put the clothes away.

"All he does is cry when he's fussin' and I'm holdin' him," Daryl lamented, giving Ani a dirty look when she chuckled.

"That's 'cause ya don' have the magic titty juice that puts 'im ta sleep," she told him.

"Then hurry up and get them magic titties over here and get him to go to sleep. Like a little piece and quiet with my wife before he starts cryin' again."

"Hand 'im ova," she said with a soft smile, reaching up with one hand to touch his cheek while giving him a kiss and taking Lou with the other hand all at the same time. "I needed that break. Thank ya."

He just hummed in response and watched as she sat in the rocking chair and carefully took her shirt off, positioning Lou as she began to sing to him. She was once again singing 'Kookaburra' to him as she fed him, which still confused Daryl to no end. She never once sang the normal lullabies he'd heard growing up or remembered from when he was really little and his mother would comfort him. He couldn't complain, though, because he enjoyed listening to her voice, even if it was the same song over and over again. It wasn't as if she only sang the one song; like Beth had with Judith, she sang to Lou a lot and a lot of it was just whatever random song had gotten stuck in her head. But 'Kookaburra' was the song she had dedicated to when he was tired or upset as it was an easy one to remember and helped him settle down. Ani had told him that he could sing it to Lou, too, and he'd tried, but he was no where near as good a singer and had resorted to only doing it if she wasn't around. While it didn't stop Lou from fussing in his arms, it did calm him down from full on crying to just fussing. Ani swore that consistency was the key to raising a baby and had focused on keeping Lou to as rigid a schedule as she could as far as feeding and sleeping went and it had seemed to be working. While the boy wasn't sleeping through the night, they only woke up once or twice a night anymore, and he went back to sleep easily. Thanks to that, they were both feeling more like themselves, though he wasn't sure he approved of the methods she'd taken to helping them get that far.

She had started using 'tummy time' to keep him awake during the day as well as leaving him on his own when he started fussing, finishing what she was doing rather than dropping everything and going to him. Daryl and her had had a fight about it until she told him to go talk to Carson if he was that pissed off and thought she was harming their son. It had caused a bit of a strain in their relationship for about a week after he had really done just that. After that, though, and when Lou had started sleeping better, he'd been forced to apologize to her and admit he was wrong. Lou hated being on his stomach and he hated being left alone to fuss, even if it was only for a few seconds to a minute, just long enough for Ani to put what was in her hands away or down in a safe place and wipe them off, and Daryl hated hearing Lou fuss. But it had soon become apparent that what she was doing was for Lou's sake and to help him get used to being awake during the day, asleep at night, and to help him learn how to hold his head up. He wasn't able to hold it up for very long, and she was always right next to him, or asked Daryl to be, but he was able to get it off the blanket for a second or so at a time. It always seemed to Daryl that she was a natural at being a mother and that she knew far more than she should as a new mother only for her to claim it was due to Carson's advice from before he left. He couldn't help but feel that the less worried she became, the more nervous he got as a father and the less confidence he had in himself.

"Ya know, I think 'e might start smilin' soon," she told him, coming up behind him and wrapping her arms around his neck as he sat on the bed, fixing his bow. "I swear I saw one on 'is face yestaday when ya rolled 'im ova at tummy time and were playin' with 'im."

"Wasn't really playin' with him," Daryl denied while putting the bow down next to the bed.

Ani laughed as she moved to sit in his lap, kissing him softly before looking him in the eye and telling him, "Ya think I don' see how ya are with 'im. I might be the one that's able ta calm 'im, but ya eva notice 'e makes the most noise when ya sittin' with 'im afta tummy time and ya flip 'im ova?"

"Does he?"

"Yep! He's always makin' more faces and tryin' ta make more noises when 'e's with ya than 'e does with me. It's always jus' sleepy and eatin' sounds or fussin', but 'e makes happia sounds when ya givin' 'im attention."

"That's 'cause he doesn't like bein' on his stomach. Ain't got nothin' to do with anything else."

"Bullshite. He knows 'is daddy. Always tryin' ta lift 'is head when ya come inta the room. Might be calma when I'm 'round, but 'e knows 'is daddy and loves 'im, jus' like I do."

"You're full of shit, you know that, don't you?" he told her, holding her a little tighter as the pit in his stomach about how good of a father he was filling up with every word she told him.

She just smiled and kissed his cheek before going to get up, only for Daryl's arms to refuse to let go, causing her to look at him in the eye. That look had been there for the last couple weeks and the tension in the air became palpable as he slowly leaned in to give her a gentle kiss on her lips. He lingered there, deepening the kiss as his hand tangled in her hair and hers gripped at his neck and shoulder. Ani moved to straddle him when he pulled away while his eyes darted to the bassinet at the end of the bed. She reassured him that Lou wouldn't wake up before moving in to kiss him more passionately to which he responded in kind. Daryl had been feeling frustrated for a while but hadn't brought it up because Ani had been focused on Lou and the doctor had told her to wait six weeks. It had only gotten worse after seeing her fight Janice a few weeks ago and watching her figure move in such ways after so long. While it had turned him on to see her belly round with his child, seeing her lithe form move while defending herself and her family had damn near made him pop a tent right then and there. He'd been fighting himself ever since then to keep himself from going overboard by focusing more on the Sanctuary and Lou than Ani. It had worked until they started fighting about Ani's treatment of Lou and his belief that it was harming their son. After that issue had been resolved, all he'd wanted to do was take her to bed with the direct intention of showing her how sorry he was.

The kiss deepened even further as he stood up and turned them around before laying her gently on the bed beneath him. He laid his weight on top of her carefully as her own hands tangled in his hair and their tongues began dancing together. Their breaths got heavier while the kiss became even more fevered as their bodies began to move on their own. Daryl pulled back long enough to look down at her and see her swollen lips, flushed cheeks, and blown pupils before leaning down once again. He kissed her lips and then started a trail down her jawline, to the clavicle that was constantly exposed due to her scar and missing hair. The deep purple mark he had almost always left there had faded months ago, it seemed, and he was all too happy but to replace it once again. Her fingers of one hand were tangled in his hair while the other one was gripping his shoulder tightly, holding him to her with everything she had as her breathy voice sounded in his ear. He couldn't help but to grind into her as one of her knees came up to press against his hip, her other trapped between his own legs. Her body was yielding underneath him as he moved one hand up her navel and began popping open the buttons of her flannel. Ani stiffened as he pulled back and looked down at her, moving her hands to cover herself once again while looking away from him.

"Never been shy before," he commented, running his nose up her jaw and pressing even further against her, capturing her arms between them. "Let me see."

"I'm gross," she whispered back. "My stomach looks even worse and is all stretched and gross. I look even worse than before and I hate it."

"Stop," Daryl told her as he pulled away and leaned back on his knees, taking her hands away and locking them with one of his own above her head. "You're fuckin' beautiful."

Ani's breath hitched at the hungry look in his eyes before he leaned down once again and started kissing a trail for her lips down her neck. He didn't stop until he was teasing her breasts with his tongue, nipping and licking the flesh of her mounds before continuing downward and pressing kisses against her stomach. The scars there weren't as vivid in exchange for the stretch marks that now graced her skin. He made sure to pay attention to the area until she was writhing underneath him and begging him to stop. It was too much for her, the feeling of the kiss combined with the heat of his flesh against her and all she wanted was to feel his flesh in return. He slowly climbed his way back to her lips while releasing her hands so that he could undo her pants. There was no more waiting for either of them and neither cared what the doctor had said about waiting as her own hands found their way under his shirt. He pulled away long enough for her to remove it completely and run her hands up and down his own chest, missing the feel of his skin as much as he missed the sight of hers. Daryl didn't miss a beat as soon as it was off and leaned down once again to capture her lips while wrapping his arms around her in order to deny any kind of space between their chests. For a while, neither broke the kiss except for to take gasping breaths before being completely engrossed in each other and the feel of their tongues battling for dominance. Ani willingly lost the fight before Daryl started down her body again with a trail of kisses all the way to her pant line.

His hands hooked underneath her pants and began pulling them down while he licked a trail from the outside of her hip into her inner thigh. Her breathing hitched once again as he stared up at her with his blue eyes full of desire as he removed the garments completely and sensuously ran a hand from the heel of her foot up to the crook of her knee. The devilish smirk he always seemed to get before he tortured her core appeared on his face, making her chest began to heave in anticipation. He stared at her as he agonizingly slowly lowered himself while putting her leg over his shoulder. Daryl's blue eyes burned into her green orbs while he began kissing the inside of her thigh all the way to her already glistening core. He was tight in his own pants, throbbing painfully against the fabric and zipper, but he didn't care as he lowered his chin and licked her from opening to clit. Ani moaned at the feel at the same time as Daryl did at the taste of her, both forgetting how much they missed the act. The feel of Daryl's tongue and teeth against her clit had Ani clasping her hand over her mouth to keep from moaning too loudly. Neither of them wanted to wake their son up, but nothing short of that or an emergency would stop Daryl from tasting his wife's juices on his tongue once again. Ani couldn't keep her eyes on him like he normally wanted, but he was so engrossed in his ministrations and the feel of her hands tugging at his hair that he didn't care that she wasn't watching him. It didn't take long for her cum to completely soak his chin and her cry of ecstasy to flow throughout the room.

Only then did her eyes refocus on him and watch as he stood from the bed and stared down at her while undoing his belt. He didn't take his own eyes off of her as he opened his pants and let them drop to his ankles, stepping out of them and crawling back onto the bed. Ani's legs were open to him and the rough skin of his palms running up her outer thigh, all the way up to her breast and around her neck prickled her skin and had her moaning before his body even got close to her. He laid flat against her, hitching one knee up high against his thigh as he ground his pulsing cock against her core, slickening it with her juices. Daryl kissed her roughly for the first time in months while aligning himself with her opening and pushing through from tip to hilt in one fluid motion. He swallowed her cry of pleasure and took her hand in his other, pressing it into the bed as he began to move. She was already quivering inside, squeezing his shaft so tightly he was certain he wasn't going to last long. Ani was already on the verge of orgasming before he even entered her and the minute he did, she had cum. All she could do was try to move with him, bringing her other leg up and tightly gripping his hips with her knees to give him the best angle to get as deep as he could go. It was only a few minutes before they were both pushed over the edge, but in those few minutes, nothing else in the room even entered their plane of existence. With a last lingering kiss, he pulled out of her, their combined juices flowing freely between her legs, though he did not relinquish his hold on her. Instead, Daryl rolled onto his back and pulled her down on top of him, not wanting to be free of the feel of her hot and sweaty skin against his own. They fell asleep like that and didn't wake until late in the night when Lou began to fuss and they were forced back into the realm of reality.

"Should've waited," Daryl told her as he cleaned their son and put a fresh diaper on him before handing him over to Ani for a feeding. "Doc said six weeks."

"We waited five, plus damn near two months at the end a the pregnancy. I would a climbed on top a ya the moment I noticed ya standin' at attention if it hadn' happened tanight," Ani responded, feeling more relaxed and at ease than she had since the end of the war. "Been too damn long since I been with ya as ya wife. I needed that. We needed that. So shut it or I'll climb on ya again as soon as 'e's back ta sleep."

~x~

"I love you, a bushel and a peck. A bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck. A hug around the neck and a barrel and a heap, a barrel and a heap and I'm talkin' in my sleep about you. About who? About you!" Ani's singing voice rang out as Daryl opened the door and watched her playing with their son on their bed.

She was waving his arms and clapping his hands together as she sang before moving them above his head and making them move in a hurrah motion. He would wave his arms as much as any five week old could and would kick his legs as much as he could, too, though it was clear he was enjoying his mother's voice. Daryl quietly closed the door and leaned against it while folding his arms and just smiled and watched as she repeated her little song. Even though he'd done his best not to make any real noise, she still heard him and glanced over, offering him a smile. He didn't move from his position as she continued to play with Lou, moving to focus on exercising his legs. She moved them in a bicycle motion before bringing his toes up to his shoulders and back down straight. After doing this several times, though, a very loud, very wet release of gas sounded throughout the room and Ani began gagging. Daryl could understand why when the smell hit him and only then did he move to the bed and took over the task of changing his diaper. Even though she was no longer pregnant or suffering from the effects of hormones, her ability to handle Lou's blowouts was non-existent. The only time she had, she had been gagging the entire time and eventually puked when she was done and noticed she had gotten some on her hand. Daryl had promised her he would take care of them after that and, while she didn't mind changing him with his normal dirty diapers, Ani had gladly taken him up on the offer.

"What was that song you were singin' to him?" he asked her, trying to get her mind off the smell as she held a piece of cloth she had rubbed sage on up to her nose.

"Don' recall the name a the song, but it's from a show I used ta watch in Sunday School," she told him.

"What kind of show do you watch in Sunday School?"

"'Twas called Veggie Tales. Bible stories told in funny ways by Bob the Tomato and Larry the Cucumber."

"You're joking, right?"

"Nope, even the song starts with 'If ya like ta talk ta tamatoes. If a squash can make ya smile. If ya like to waltz with potatoes, up and down the produce aisle, have we got a show for ya!'" she laughed after she sung the little ditty. "It was a really funny show and I especially loved the Pirates Who Don' Do Anythin' and the Supa Larry movies. It was jus' a stupid show, but when ya bein' forced ta go ta a church a a god ya don' believe in, ya rememba some a the funny things. But that song's a good one for singin' ta Lou."

"Yeah, wanna get him some new clothes? These got shit all over them."

Ani wretched again, "Does 'e need a bath?"

"Naw, I got it all. Just needs a change of outfit," he told her, heading over to the sink to rinse out the onesie Lou had been in and wash his hands.

"Ya a damn lifesava with this shite, ya know?"

"Say that every damn time he has a blow out."

"Yeah, well, that's how I feel. That first one. I thought I was goin' ta die when it got on my hands. I hate nasty on my hands and the shite that comes out a this one's ass is the nastiest, shiteiest shite that's eva been shited," she said. "Think that might make 'im feel betta?"

"How the fuck should I know?"

"Well, that's the first shite I've seen 'im take since yestaday mornin'. What 'bout ya? Did ya notice?"

"Gotta pay attention to how often he takes a dump now?"

"Couldn' hurt. I mean, if we know 'e's backed up, we can do that kind a shite and work 'is bowels, loosen 'em up. Get 'im back ta bein' good and happy again. Betta than wondarin' why 'e's so pissy when 'e can' tell us what's wrong."

"Yeah, I guess. I'll keep an eye on it."

"Thanks, love," she told him with a kiss on his cheek. "Neva knew a baby could fart so fuckin' loud, though."

Daryl chuckled with her and agreed, "That was somethin' else. Hell, don't think I've heard one that loud since Merle and I were sharin' a room and he was passed out drunk."

"Gross."

"Pfft. Have to say, I'd rather Merle's than what came outta this little one's ass."

"Now that is sayin' somethin'. Hopefully 'e stops fussin' so damn much. Want our happy baby back."

"Can't have that all the time, baby girl. You ain't all sunshine and rainbows all the time."

"Yeah, well, I ain' goin' ta be," she laughed. "I'm a mama bear with 'er papa bear and baby ta protect."

"Ain't I supposed to be the one doin' the protectin'?"

"We both can, but ya ain' the one who's had ta beat heads in jus' ta make sure they knew their place. Though, can' say I haven' enjoyed it. Thought it'd end with Janice. Didn' realize ya bein' a daddy was goin' ta make so many bitches think they got a shot with ya."

"You angry 'bout all that?"

"Not at ya. If it ain' obvious, I know damn well ya mine. 'Sides, do ya really think I'm scared a a little competition?"

"Not when you got a right hook that could knock me out."

"And don' ya fuckin' forget it," she said with a smile he returned.

"Never, baby girl."