A/N: I almost thought I wasn't going to finish this today, it's been a rough week, but I did. This is a slow and quiet chapter, but I hope you like it. I did end up adding two more chapters to my outline so, surprise, the story will last a little longer!
The early morning sun shone through the single window in the cabin loft, illuminating a square on the hardwood floor that was currently filled by the sprawled limbs of a happily-sleeping dog. The window was closed, but a hint of cool morning air still slipped into the cabin, kept somewhat at bay by the banked fire downstairs and the numerous comforters currently heaped on top of the two sleeping figures in bed.
They were curled together, Beth facing the little wicker bassinet that rested against her side of the bed while Daryl was tucked against her back, spooning her in his sleep. His arm wrapped around her waist and his lips rested almost just against her shoulder, as if kissing her skin in his sleep. It was a peaceful scene, though neither of them was awake to see it.
The peace was soon shattered, however, by a thin sharp cry from the bassinet as the baby woke up for the third time that night. Daryl stirred almost immediately at the first cry; he had always been a light sleeper, and frankly, Beth tended to be too. So it was no wonder he felt her shifting as soon as he did, already half-up and leaning over the side of the bed to peer into the bassinet.
"She hungry?" Daryl's voice was rough with sleep as he watched Beth reach into the bassinet and check the fussy baby.
"It's about that time…" Beth's voice was as tired as his; no wonder since they'd been up a few times last night to take care of the baby, and both of them were still exhausted from the long day they'd had first fighting off the Butchers and then handling everything that had followed. Including this little one.
Daryl was already moving, pushing down the blankets to slide out of bed. As his bare feet hit the floor, he said, "I'll get some warm water going." Hearing the slapping of his bare feet heading towards the stairs, Bear lifted his head from where he slept in the warm square of sunlight and looked at him with a little questioning whine. Daryl sighed, and added, "An' I'll take Bear out while the water warms."
"You sure?"
He looked back over his shoulder to see Beth sitting up in bed, the baby in her arms. The sun shone through the window just enough to illuminate her messy blond hair, flushed cheeks, and half-slitted eyes, and he smiled immediately at the sight of her, so sleepy and gorgeous. (The fact that she was holding the baby somehow only made her look more appealing to him, something he never would have expected even a year or two ago.)
"I've got it," he said easily, pausing only long enough to let Bear dart ahead of him down the stairs before he followed, his voice echoing up to her, "You rest a bit longer."
As he headed down into the kitchen to get some water going, he was struck by how domestic the routine of it felt. He stoked the fire first, getting it up just slightly from the low-burning coals that had lasted overnight. Then he filled the kettle with water and set it on the hook over the fire. He didn't need it to boil, just get a bit warm for the baby's formula.
He figured he had just enough time to take the dog outside before he'd have to check it, so after pausing to put on his boots and grab a jacket, he opened the door and let Bear out onto the porch. It was still pretty early in the morning from what he could tell, but things tended to get started early here. So he wasn't surprised when he stepped out to see Rosita standing down at the shore, checking Eugene's fishing traps. The man was very into schedules and routines, and skipping this one yesterday had probably annoyed him enough. Injured as he was, he couldn't check them himself, so Daryl could easily imagine him nagging Rosita or Tara into doing it.
Daryl gave Rosita a wave and then wrapped his arms across his chest and watched as Bear headed down the steps and onto the grass to do his business. Thankfully no one tried to talk to him. He might have been having a very domestic morning, but that didn't mean he wanted to converse with people, especially when the sun was still rising. Bear ran up onto his steps as soon as he was finished and Daryl let him back inside, laughing at the way the dog bounded to his food dish and stared expectantly at him.
"Gotta feed the baby first," he said to the dog with a chuckle. Bear immediately gave him some puppy eyes and Daryl rolled his head, though he did pause to pat Bear's head, unable to resist. His puppy eyes were pretty good, just not enough to work on him right this second. He was too focused on the baby, not wanting to leave her hungry for long.
Once he had the water at the right temperature, he made up a bottle of formula. Putting the kettle back on the hook to boil for their tea, he grabbed the warm bottle and brought it up the stairs with Bear at his heels. Beth waited for him, cooing softly at the baby in her arms. She'd loosened her braid, and her blond hair hung down her bare shoulders now, tempting him even from here to run his fingers through it. But Annie-May held precedence, so he slipped into bed next to Beth and held the bottle out to her with a small smile.
"Thank you," she murmured, fingers brushing against his as she took the bottle of formula and adjusted Annie-May in her arms. "Actually… Do you want to feed her?" Without waiting for the answer, she said, "Here," and half-turned to slip the baby into his arms.
He'd fed Judy before, so it wasn't his first time by far. He just hadn't done it with Annie-May yet because Beth seemed so focused on it, and he knew she was concerned about making sure the baby was feeding well, since formula was their only option. But he wasn't at all opposed to the idea, and though he did fumble for a moment to get his hands up, he managed to take the baby from her without too much confusion.
"There you go," she murmured, nudging one of his arms so that the baby's head was supported a bit better. "Perfect. She's pretty good at feeding, so just offer her the bottle and she should latch."
She wasn't wrong, the baby latched onto the bottle almost immediately and began to drink, leaving him to stare down at her, mostly in wonder. She was just so tiny. Her skin was so smooth, and that downy thatch of hair on her head so soft, and every single one of her fingers and toes was tiny and perfect. She kept her eyes closed as she fed but every once in a while they'd flutter open for a second, dazzling him with that flash of baby blue. Beth had said a lot of babies were born with blue eyes, and they'd probably fade, but who knew into what color. He seemed to recall that Brigid had had green eyes, but neither of them knew what the father had looked like, or who he'd been.
The thought was slightly sobering, because it reminded him that they knew so little of either of Annie-May's birth parents; what they were like, what they'd looked like in the father's case, what they might have passed onto her genetically.
"What are you thinking about?" Beth asked from beside him, perhaps spotting the change in his expression.
He smoothed out the furrow in his brow and gave a little shrug as Annie-May continued to eat. "Just… how little we know about her birth parents."
"I know what you mean." Beth shifted a little closer and rested her chin on his shoulder, peering down at Annie-May where she was curled in his arms. "There's not much we can do about that, though, unfortunately. Not these days." She rubbed one hand in a circular motion against his back, and he felt her smiling against his bare shoulder as she added, "But we know us. We know everyone in Haven who is gonna be around her while she grows up, helping to take care of her and raising her. I think she'll turn out just fine."
"I'll give her one thing," Daryl remarked, chucking the baby lightly under the chin as she drank from her bottle, "She is pretty cute."
Beth hummed her agreement, but as soon as she did, Daryl heard a whining from beside the bed. He glanced over to see Bear standing there, ears pulled back and puppy eyes on full display.
"Uh oh," Beth teased from behind him. "I think someone feels left out."
Daryl snorted. "He's mad 'cause I told him the baby had to eat first." His gruff voice broke off as Annie-May finished her bottle, and he took a moment to hand it to Beth before picking up the cloth she handed it to place it over his shoulder. He shifted her carefully, acutely aware of how tiny she was in his large, rough hands. She felt so small, so easily breakable. He could remember Judy being this tiny, but somehow, this felt even scarier than that.
After a careful moment he got her settled and as he began to pat her back lightly, he glanced down at Bear again and joked. "Or are you mad I called her cute, hm? You can both be cute, y' know."
"That's right," Beth murmured, tucking her legs beneath her as she sat up more in bed. "You're both pretty cute, Bear. Okay? No jealousy." She looked at Daryl and gave a thoughtful hum. "In fact, once you're done burping her, we should probably give them a proper introduction."
Once Annie-May had burped, Beth helped him settle her in his arms and shift towards the edge of the bed. Then she got up, bare feet padding on the hardwood floor as she made her way around the bed to his side. "Look, Bear. This is Annie-May." She stood near the dog, guiding him as he leaned in and sniffed carefully at Annie-May's head. He gave a little huff, took another snuffle, and then proceeded to give the tiny roo-ing howl sound he often gave when he was excited.
Annie-May gurgled in response and Beth laughed. The joyful sound had a smile cracking Daryl's face as well, even as concerned as he was with making sure Annie-May was safe. "She must smell interesting," she remarked as she praised the dog and gave him head scratches for being so gentle.
"Yeah…" He leaned in to the baby, took another sniff, and immediately pulled back sharply, his lip curling into a sneer. "I reckon she does. Powerful interestin', ugh."
When Beth began to laugh again, it was all he could do to join in, disgusting though it was. It was natural when it came to babies, after all. All you could do was go with the flow.
After they got Annie-May cleaned up and changed, they brought her downstairs with her bassinet. While Beth fed Bear, Daryl took the kettle of water that he'd re-hung over the stove, and used the now-hotter water to pour them each a cup of tea. He planned to make them both breakfast, but just as he started to look around to see what he could make, a knock came at their door, followed quickly by Maggie's familiar voice. "Good morning! I come bearing food and grownup conversation…"
Beth laughed as she side-stepped the table and crossed to the front door to pull it open. Maggie stepped inside, joking as she did, "Though I guess you're not tired of the baby talk yet, since it's only been a day. Frankly I sure hope you're not, because I can't lie and say I didn't come here to see the little one…" She held up a container and added, "I promise, I didn't lie about the breakfast, though."
As Beth welcomed her sister in, Bear finished off his meal and hurried to greet her, wagging his tail and twinning around her in excitement. He didn't jump though, which was good. Daryl had only had to nudge him off people once or twice, and he'd already seemed to learn that jumping was a bad idea. He was a pretty smart dog, so it wasn't so surprising. Now that the threat of the Butchers had passed, Daryl would have to find some time to work on really training the dog. It might be harder with Annie-May, but they'd figure it out somehow.
That was a thought for a later time though, his stomach reminded him by giving an audible growl as Maggie set the dish on the table and removed the lid to reveal one of Alberta's delicious breakfasts. It looked like a hash made of sweet potatoes from their garden, venison bacon from one of him and Beth's hunts, and… "Are those eggs?" The question spilled from his lips, and he wasn't the only one as astonished, judging by the shocked look on Beth's face as she immediately leaned over to look.
Maggie gave them a pleased grin. "Yeah. Apparently one of the people the Butcher's raided must've had chickens. We found a whole bunch of eggs in jars of water, stuck in a dark closet. Eugene said they must have been stored with pickling lime, which is apparently a thing used to firm up other vegetables before pickling? He said the scientific name, but I can't remember."
Eugene was about as into learning things from books as Beth was, probably more, so Daryl wasn't surprised that he'd known how the eggs were stored. They had all learned over the last six months that, odd as the man was, he was a font of surprisingly useful information. And if he didn't know something, you could find him a book and he'd pick it up pretty fast.
"Anyway," Maggie went on, nudging the plate towards them with a smile, "He said the eggs can last up to a year like this. The jars we found had dates on them, and it looks like we have about six months left. Alberta's going to store them in a dark closet, until we can finish digging the root cellar."
"Maybe we can find our own chickens by then," Beth mused as she grabbed two plates and split up the food, some for her and some for Daryl, Maggie having confirmed she'd already eaten earlier.
"Speaking of chickens," Beth's sister remarked playfully, "Or should I say chicks?" She grinned at her own joke and then added, "I'd love a look at the little one while you eat."
Beth set a plate down in front of Daryl and herself and then immediately crossed to the bassinet, which was resting nearby at the side of the couch. Bear sat at the base of it, having apparently decided it was his job currently to guard the baby. Daryl smiled a little at that, but his smile only widened as Beth reached into the bassinet and carefully lifted Annie-May out. Today the little baby was dressed in a pink sweater and little gray pants, because it was a bit cold out, though the fireplace and stove were doing a good job of keeping the cabin warm.
Cradling the baby, Beth turned towards her sister, angling her arms so both could get a good look at each other. "Maggie, meet Annie-May. Annie-May, meet your Aunt Maggie."
Maggie smiled at the sight of the little infant, though her eyebrow arched as she asked softly, "Aunt?"
It took him a second to catch on to what she was asking, but Beth seemed to know immediately. Her gaze flicked to Daryl's, whether for approval or affirmation, he wasn't sure. But the question in her eyes made the realization click in his head, and he understood that Maggie was attempting to confirm that by saying 'Aunt' they were officially claiming Annie-May as their baby. Their daughter.
The realization filled him with an unexpected surge of warmth that curled around his heart and warmed every inch of him, coaxing a soft smile onto his lips. When he met Beth's eyes and gave her a little nod, she matched his smile with one of her own, and confirmed warmly to Maggie. "Yes. Meet your niece."
Maggie grinned as she reached for the infant, carefully taking her from Beth and cradling her in her arms. She stared down at the baby's sleepy little face and said in a hushed, reverent voice, "It's so nice to meet you, Annie-May…" After a moment, Daryl realized Maggie's eyes were tearing up, and he glanced awkwardly away, focusing on his plate of breakfast. From the corner of his eyes he saw Beth reach out to her sister, giving a brief squeeze to her shoulder as she passed behind her to get to her own chair.
"Sorry," Maggie said after a moment, with a wet little laugh. "It's the hormones, I think. Everything makes me more emotional these days. I was crying all over Glenn yesterday, between him being injured and y'all being at the Walmart without us, not knowing what was happening to everyone." She gave them both a small smile, and then her eyes flicked to Beth again, watching for a moment as Beth dug into her egg hash and gave a low groan of pleasure. It had been ages since they'd had fresh eggs. Or anything close to fresh eggs, anyway. He took the opportunity to dig in as well, and had to bite back a groan at how good it tasted.
After they'd taken a few bites, Maggie looked up from the baby again and asked, "So… Annie-May? How'd you pick that name?"
"Well, Annie was the name Brigid, her birth mom, had apparently been considering." Beth stumbled only slightly over the words 'birth mom' though Daryl could see the hint of guilt flash through her eyes before she continued on, "And I thought it was just such a coincidence that it was so close to Mom's name, you know? And May was Daryl's mother's name, so…" Beth's eyes widened, and she dropped the fork onto her plate with a soft clang. "Oh gosh, I didn't even think about the fact that you might have wanted to use Annette for your baby. Did you? I'm sorry, Maggie."
"Oh no, it's fine Beth, honestly. She was a mom to both of us, but she was your birth mom, not mine." She looked down at the baby, slipping one finger under her tiny hand and wiggling it with a smile. "And this little one looks like an Annie-May for sure. It suits her. It suits both of you, too." Maggie looked up at them then, another emotional smile on her face. Her gaze flicked from Daryl (who admittedly was doing his best to avoid eye contact, not because he had any issue with Maggie these days, but more because he didn't do well with other people's emotions) to Beth, and when she met her sister's eyes, she added, "I promise. Actually, you can't tell anyone I told you this, okay, but we were thinking about Shawn, for a boy. And Shelly, for a girl."
The first one he knew; Shawn had been Maggie and Beth's brother's name. He had never met Shawn, unfortunately, because he had turned before they had arrived at the farm. But he knew both Maggie (his step-sister) and Beth (his half-sister) had loved him, and both often spoke of him fondly. But he couldn't quite figure out where Shelly came from. But Beth obviously grasped the connection, because she had to wipe away a few stray tears before she murmured in response, "Shelly for Daddy?"
And then it clicked finally. Shelly must have been from Herschel. It made sense, and was a convenient way to name a girl after their father, whose name didn't otherwise translate very well.
"Yeah." Maggie chuckled. "No offense to Daddy, but I'm not a huge fan of naming our kid Hershel. It worked for him, but it would be weird for a baby. Can you imagine? A little infant named Herschel." They all laughed a little at that, because it was true. Some names just felt a lot older than others. "But I think Shelly would be cute, though I did consider Josephine, after mom. Or Joseph, if it's a boy. Honestly, we're still thinking about it." She gave a shrug with one shoulder, and then added, "Glenn is mostly letting me suggest things, he's weirdly un-picky about names."
He wondered idly to himself if it wasn't because Glenn still didn't really know what had happened to his family. He might never know. Whereas Beth and Maggie knew that their mothers and their father and brother were dead, so it was easier to pass their name on. Not that you had to name your children after your family, of course. Perhaps they were all just more inclined to it these days, with all of them having lost so many people, and babies being so rare.
"I like both of them," Beth remarked, drawing his attention back to her. "Honestly. Shelly and Shawn are both really cute names."
"Not gonna lie, hearing you say the names out loud makes it feel more real." Maggie looked down at Annie-May in her arms, and Daryl could just see that she'd briefly slipped one hand under the baby to rub her own small stomach. "Seeing Annie-May does, too."
He could imagine that it made other things feel more real, too, given how Annie-May's birth had gone. Brigid's death after labor was not something they wanted Maggie focusing on too much right now. The thought had his eyes flicking to Beth, and he wasn't surprised to see that she was already looking at him. Their eyes met in shared understanding, and Beth was quick to change the subject, albeit as casually as possible. "I'm sure it does for everyone," Beth remarked softly, "Which reminds me, is everyone curious to meet her? Only a few people saw her at the Walmart, and she was asleep swaddled on my chest for most of it. Plus that was before we named her… I figured people might be curious."
"Oh yeah," Maggie remarked with a grin, easily switching to the new conversation. "You were the hot topic of conversation at breakfast this morning. Everyone was wondering if you're going to bring her to the meeting later."
When Beth and Daryl both looked at her in confusion, Maggie chuckled. "Sorry, I guess you've been a bit holed up since you got back yesterday. No surprises there." She gently rocked Annie-May in her arms and added, "Rick wants to have a meeting in a little bit, to discuss yesterday and all the supplies and the plans for them, I think. Glenn and I are on watch, so we'll miss it, but will you bring Annie-May?"
Daryl would defer to Beth on that one, since he figured she had better instincts than him. Currently his instincts were mostly just protective; not that he didn't feel like Annie-May would be safe around the others. There was just a part of him that wished he could tuck her away and avoid any risk to her safety. But that would have been impossible in the old world, and definitely was in the new.
"I think so," Beth remarked after a moment of thought. "It will be good for everyone to meet her, and I want her to get used to being around everyone, to recognize them all." In a way, that was part of how Judith had been kept safe all this time. She'd grown to know and trust most people in the group as a baby, which meant any one of them could take her to safety without her screaming in protest at being held by a stranger. It had never officially been discussed, it had just happened out of necessity, but he wasn't surprised that Beth was planning to do the same with Annie-May, just more intentionally. "Is Glenn okay to be on watch? Does he need me to check him over?"
"He says he's fine, and insisted on doing it so everyone else could go to the meeting, but I told him he'll be sitting in a chair the whole time and if he looks even a little bit pale, I'll be fetching you immediately."
Maggie smiled at the statement, but there was a look of concern in her eyes that lingered until Beth gave her a reassuring smile and nod, confirming that she would be there if Glenn needed her. Only then did Maggie change tactics, glancing down at Annie-May again with a grin."How exciting!" Maggie cooed down at the baby, who stretched and made a little sound. "Annie-May's first group meeting. Are you looking forward to it?"
Beth got up and leaned over her shoulder just in time for Annie-May to kick her little feet and give a gurgle in response. "I'll take that as a yes."
The group meeting ended up taking a lot longer to get started than usual, probably in large part due to everyone wanting their chance to get introduced to Annie-May. Daryl had been hesitant to hand her off to everyone, but thankfully, Beth seemed to feel just the same way. They passed the baby between them, but besides Maggie earlier, the others didn't hold Annie-May themselves just yet. Instead they peered at her, cooing and babbling and playing with her tiny feet and hands, which she seemed to delight in. (Just as much as Bear, who had tagged along, delighted in begging for attention from everyone who was not currently occupied with the baby.)
But finally they all managed to get settled around the multitude of tables in Hank and Alberta's home. Just about everyone had come, except for Maggie and Glenn, who were on the early afternoon watch. (Beth had stopped by their house to check him over and tried once to convince him to rest, but Glenn has insisted he was capable, even with his injury. He did look fine, minus his bandaged wound and the sling he had his arm in, so Beth hadn't protested.)
Beth and Daryl had promised Maggie that they'd fill her in after, either way. The only other person missing was Eugene, who was doing better but still resting in bed at home.. Even the new kids were here; Laila sitting quietly in the kitchen beside Alberta, Thomas in between Sasha and Tyrone, and Enid and Avery sitting beside Carol.
"Now as y'all know, we collected a lot of supplies at the Butcher's place in Clayton, on top of successfully repelling their attack on Haven, I might add." Rick allowed for a moment of cheers and congratulations, before he continued, "And of course, we also added three new members to our community." He glanced at Beth, who held Annie-May swaddled to her chest again, and laughed. "Sorry, I should have said four, counting our newest and youngest additions."
Carol, who was seated on Beth's other side, leaned in to smile at the baby as the rest of the group chuckled. Daryl had his arm slung over Beth's shoulder, and felt her tense just slightly at all the attention, but she gave a soft smile still, and soon everyone's attention turned back to Rick. Still, he made a mental note. He had wondered how the baby might affect her in various ways. Both their books had discussed how even when one got more comfortable with handling their PTSD or trauma, certain events or changes in life could throw that for a loop and stir emotions up again. Beth had been through a lot lately, with the attack by the Butchers, the storming of the Walmart, the loss of Brigid, and now the new baby they were taking care of.
The baby herself didn't seem to bother Beth at all, in fact, he'd noticed that Annie-May seemed to have been immediately added into the same sphere as him, where Beth never minded the physical contact or nearness. The same couldn't be said for everyone else in their community; no matter how Beth had adjusted over the last six months in Haven. She had grown more comfortable being in a somewhat-enclosed space, partially because they could always retreat to the privacy of their cabin, or go on a trip to get away for a bit. And she'd become a little more open to physical contact, offering people affectionate touches or occasional hugs on rare occasions. But she was still very protective of her personal space, and he'd noticed more than once today that she seemed particularly defensive of it when she had the baby on her chest.
It was undoubtedly something he needed to consider, but Rick was talking, so for the moment Daryl just squeezed Beth's shoulder with his hand, and focused on Rick's words. "Since we have so many new additions, expanding the living areas is obviously going to move to the top of our list. Luckily, one of the many things we found inside that Walmart were several easy-build shed kits. Obviously, these aren't entirely ideal as full living quarters, but I think we could easily turn them into extra bedrooms and storage spaces."
As everyone hummed and nodded, Rick's gaze turned to Beth and Daryl, and he added, "I thought to offer you one of them. I know Beth has been wanting to add onto your cabin to make a little medical center. Do you think one of the sheds would suit?"
Beth looked to Daryl, likely deferring to his opinion since he was the one who had suggested building something for her. He considered it for a moment, and then gave a little shrug. "Thanks, but that's alright. Save 'em for the youngin's, or for storage. I was plannin' on buildin' a good sized lean-to structure onto the side of our cabin, t' add another large room for the medical center. I think that'll be better, cause I can build it t' suit. Long as I can use some of the buildin' supplies we got…"
"Of course," Rick agreed with a nod. "I reckon some more space for a medical center is right there at the top of the list. Anythin' you need, just let me know. And I'm sure some of the others would be happy to help you."
Tyrese gave a nod from across the table. "I'd be happy to help, Daryl." He glanced at Thomas beside him, who squirmed eagerly in place before casting Tyrese a nervous little look. It seemed the young boy had already found a better male figure to look up to. "Maybe Thomas can help and learn a thing or two?"
"Sure," Daryl drawled easily. Glenn had offered to help at one point, too, so he was pretty sure they'd be all set. Frankly, he'd have just done it himself, but he wasn't gonna complain about some helping hands.
The conversation went on, the others discussing what to do with the sheds and the rest of the supplies. Daryl listened with one ear, but the other was focused on Beth sitting beside him. Most of her focus was on Annie-May, and when the baby made a little sound, he felt her tense slightly.
"Everythin' alright?" He leaned in, fingers brushing her shoulder as he whispered the question in her ear.
"Mhm. I think she's just gettin' a little fussy. She might need some air." To be honest, the baby looked alright to him, which made him wonder if it was Annie-May who needed some air, or Beth. But he wasn't going to deny her a break, whether it was for her or the baby. It didn't matter.
"C'mon, let's go get some air then. They can handle discussin' the supplies and such without us." At Daryl's nudging, Beth rose to her feet, hands cupping the baby's back. When the others glanced at them, he caught sight of the anxious look on Beth's face, and immediately remarked to the others, "Sorry, baby needs a break. You can let us know if y' need anythin', we'll be outside."
They made their way out without any arguments, Bear rushing ahead of them without hesitation to wait by the door. The moment the door closed behind them, Daryl heard Beth drag in a deep breath. As she exhaled in a rush, he watched her, a knowing look on her face that she caught the second she turned. "Alright," she joked, the corners of her lips curving up just slightly as she looked at him. "So maybe both Annie-May and I needed some air."
"I ain't blamin' either of you." Daryl rested a hand on her back and guided her and the baby down the front steps to the front path. "Truth be told, I could use some air, too. It's been a lot, these last couple days."
"Yeah," Beth agreed with a sigh. She looked out over the lake in silence for a minute, shading her eyes with one hand to stare at the water before she turned to peer past the cabin. "Do you want to go look at the horses? I'm curious how they're settling in, and it would be a nice distraction."
"Sure," he agreed easily. "But why don't you let me hold Annie-May? That way you can check on all the horses and we don't have t' worry about them looking at Annie-May like a snack."
Beth laughed. "I don't think horses would eat a baby." But she began to unwrap the chest carrier, cupping the baby carefully and handing her to Daryl as she teased, "Though I guess her little pink head does look a bit like an apple…"
"Exactly," He chuckled as he settled the baby into his arms, cradling her as he peered down into her sleepy little face. "We don't want her gettin' all slobbered on."
He let Beth take the lead, bringing them around to the back of the cabins where the horses were currently tethered on long leads. They had already begun putting up some of the fencing they'd found at the Walmart to make a pen for them, and Daryl had heard them discussing turning one of the shed kits into a shelter or stable, until they could make something better. For now, the horses remained unsaddled, with blankets to keep them warm. Beth went right up to them, blowing in the nostrils of each horse in turn to introduce herself to them.
For his part, Daryl mostly kept his distance, staying a little bit away but angling his arms so that Annie-May could look as much as she wanted. She was looking, at least he thought she was. He didn't know how much she could register at this age. Maybe he'd have to ask Beth if she had a book or somethin' he could read. "I don't know much about babies," he remarked suddenly and softly to the little girl, who just blinked up at him. "Sorry to say, but well… I never really planned on havin' any. Never thought I'd be a dad." He felt a sudden lump in his throat and swallowed hard. "Truth be told, I didn't think I'd be a good one. My own dad was nowhere near a prime example. Frankly, I ain't run into many men who were, back in the day."
He looked up, watching as Beth checked over one of the chestnut horses, her hands moving expertly over his legs and back and rump. He smiled at the sight of her, at the understanding that she'd probably learned to do that from her father. His gaze drifted back to Annie-May again, and he went on, "I reckon the first good fathers I ever saw were her dad, your grandpa. And Rick. I guess he's your Uncle Rick now." Because Rick was like a brother to him in many ways, though they'd never exactly come out and say it. It just felt right, to think of him as like an uncle to Annie-May.
For all the conflict they'd had when they'd first met, he'd seen from the beginning how good a dad Rick was, how much he'd cared for Carl and later for Judy, even knowing deep down that Judy probably wasn't his. He had protected his kids over anything else. At first, Daryl hadn't quite been able to grasp that it was real and then, he'd decided it was a fluke of some kind. There were good fathers in the world, but they were rare, it seemed. Then he'd met Hershel, and that theory had gone down the drain.
A lot of the ideas he'd learned in his younger years had been torn apart by this group, by the things they'd experienced and gone through and the lessons they'd learned. It stood to reason that his belief in what kind of father he'd be had changed, too. He just hadn't realized it was happening until now. Every time he'd held Judy or fed her, or fetched her formula, every time he'd taught Carl somethin' new like huntin' or using a knife…
"Of course, your mama helped a lot, too," he went on to the baby, who gurgled in response as if she could understand what he said. "Hell, she helped more than anyone. 'Scuse my language. Your mama… she showed me that anythin' was possible. If I could believe in the good in other people because of her… why not in myself? An' if that's possible, then I reckon anythin' is. Includin' me bein' a father to you."
Annie-May squirmed in his arms, raising an arm and waving it about briefly, coaxing a smile to his lips. He touched the tip of his finger gently to her hand, and whispered, "I can't promise I'll be an amazing father, Annie-May. But I promise I'll try t' be the best I can, for you. And for her. Deal?"
She gave a little snorting piggy sound in response, and he laughed. "I'll take that as an agreement, lil' piglet."
By the time Beth finished checking over the horses, the meeting had let out and people had gone back to their daily duties. They stopped to check on Carol, Tara, and Rosita, who were dragging over one of the shed kits while Avery and Enid watched from the steps of the motorhome. Eugene was also there, to Beth's dismay, insisting the sun would help him heal. He was seated in a lawn chair, entire chest wrapped in bandages to keep the wound on his back covered, with the instructions for the shed kit in his lap.
Beth had a hell of a time getting him to put the instructions down long enough for her to give him a quick exam, but in the end she pronounced that the sun wasn't doing him any harm, and that he should be fine as long as he stayed sitting and didn't do any labor. (Considering he hadn't been the physical labor type when he was uninjured, that probably wouldn't be a problem.) According to Carol, they planned on turning the shed kit into a bedroom for Enid and Avery, set up just beside or behind the RV, so they had a living area as well.
Calling Bear away from where he'd been sitting with Enid and Avery, getting showered with pets, they left that group behind and continued through Haven. Halfway to their cabin, they spotted Rick, Michonne, and Carol, who were working on building a roofed cage of sorts around the rabbit hutch behind cabin three, so that they could expand the area with the addition of the new rabbits they'd gotten from the Butchers.
Judith was watching from inside the little mesh playpen that Rick had gotten from Walmart, and Beth paused to lean over the low wall and say hello to her. The toddler sat on the blue mesh flooring, her hair a wavy cloud of blonde around her cherubic face. She was dressed in new clothing that Beth had picked out yesterday, a purple dress with little flowers on it. She paused playing with her toys and tipped her head back to babble at Beth, "Bef! Hi Bef! Judy owside. Judy pway outside!"
Funny how he knew exactly what she was saying, and Beth seemed to also, even though half the words were mispronounced. Still Beth brightly agreed with her, "That's right, Judy, you're playing outside, isn't it fun? Do you like your new playpen?" The girl babbled back to her in excitement, holding up one of her new toys with a squeal of delight. "That's a nice toy. Look, Judy, we brought our new baby Annie-May to meet you. Do you want to see her?"
After a moment Daryl stepped closer, leaning over the playpen slightly so that Judy could see the baby in his arms. At first he thought she wouldn't understand, but she pointed and squealed, "Baby!"
"That's right, it's a baby." Beth leaned in a little more, her voice playful and solemn. "Like your baby doll, only Annie-May is a real baby. Someday she'll be bigger, and you can play with her. How does that sound?"
Judith seemed to pause to consider it, tilting her head and staring from Beth to Daryl and Annie-May and back again. "Judy pway with baby?"
"Someday, when she's a little bigger, if you want to." Beth ran her fingers affectionately through Judy's hair, and smiled at her. "Would you like that?"
Judy nodded and laughed. "Yes. We pway. Judy and baby pway."
It was undeniably an adorable scene. And not for the first time, Daryl felt a pang of longing as he looked at Beth and Judy together, so similar and so sweet. But this time, he looked down at the baby in his arms, and that longing vanished, fulfilled by the realization that he was holding their baby. That someday, sooner than he probably would like, it would be Annie-May that Beth was having this silly little conversation with. Their daughter.
Beth turned away from Judy and stood up, just in time to catch a glance at his face, it seemed, before he could put the mask back on. Not that the mask had ever fooled her, anyway. She knew him too well. She curled her fingers around his arm and leaned into him, pressing her cheek to his shoulder as she peered down at Annie-May. Her eyes were on the baby, but her words were for him as she asked, "Having a bit of a moment?"
"Maybe." He paused for a moment to stare down at her blonde hair just above Annie-May's sweet baby face, and the sight pulled the words out of him, "Just… realizin' that she's ours again, I guess. That someday she'll be Judy's size."
"Mhm. Probably driving us nuts, toddling around the cabin, getting into everything." She laughed as she said it, but when she looked up at him after, there was a solemnity in her eyes that made him realize she knew exactly what all this meant to him, what he was feeling in this moment. What he had been feeling all day, really. She reached her hand up, brushing a long strand of dark hair behind his ears, her fingers grazing his cheek in the process. "I know. That's a lot, isn't it? But a good sort of a lot."
He couldn't disagree with that. This was a first for him, but so had been a lot of things with Beth. And those had all turned out good, in the end, even with a few stumbles along the way. He couldn't help but think—or was it hope? It certainly felt optimistic—that this would turn out just as well, in the end.
It was that same feeling of optimism that fueled him when they got home. After feeding Annie-May, of course, and burping her, and putting her down for another nap. Only once she was asleep (with Bear settled in his own nap on the floor beside the bassinet) did Daryl get to work, setting up the kitchen table with some pencils and scrap paper. He was focused, tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth as he sketched out some rough drawings of first the cabin, then the lean-to he wanted to construct.
"Oh, that looks good," Beth remarked, rounding the table to peer over his shoulder. One of her hands pressed between the wings on the back of his vest and the other rested over the table. Her hair was loose and it fell forward, the ends of it tickling his cheek as she peered at his drawing. He drew back, blowing playfully at her hair with pursed lips until she laughed and leaned back enough to get it out of his face.
"Thanks," he said belatedly. "It ain't much, just a sketch. But I figure we can get enough room for two cots, hopefully we can rig up some curtains for privacy. Those can go in one half of the room here," He looked down, gesturing to the space in his sketch, "an' then in this other half we can get some storage for you and the medical supplies, maybe some chairs for people to sit in while you examine 'em, if they don't need a bed."
He looked up at Beth again and asked, "How does that sound?"
"It sounds perfect." She paused and then leaned in to kiss his forehead, murmuring against his skin, "You're perfect, Daryl Dixon."
He felt his cheeks go a little hot, a rare sensation for him. With a little snort, he teased, "It's just a little sketch, ain't nothin' much…"
"Mhm, sure." But she kissed his temple after she said it, and then added softly a moment later, "It's not just the sketch, though that's part of it. That you anticipated all my needs, listened to all my gripping over space and what I wanted, and found a way to make it happen. I mean, that's enough on its own. But it's also…" She paused, and he took the opportunity to wrap his arm around her waist and pull her into his lap. She sat sideways, leaning against his chest and wrapping her arms around his neck with a content hum.
"It's the way you've just welcomed Annie-May, I guess. I know, we already talked about this a little yesterday, but I just… I dunno. We never talked about this, you know? Babies, or… anything big that might happen in our relationship like this."
"I can't lie and say I ever thought about this specific situation," Daryl drawled after a moment, his voice low and private, but his anxiety quelled by her nearness and the knowledge that his most secret thoughts were always safe with her. "Not because of us, but because of my life, y'know? Never thought about bein' a father. Never thought a father was worth much, honestly. Not until recently."
He paused as she turned to kiss his cheek and nuzzle her nose against his, eyes fluttering half-shut at the comforting sensation. Then he breathed out a sigh, and added, "But anythin' else? I just figured if anything happened, we'd handle it, the way we always had. Like partners."
Her little laugh only made his love for her swell even more. Echoing the sentiment they'd shared many times before, she asked, "Dixon and Greene, right?"
"Exactly."
Except he was beginning to think that maybe that should be something more like Dixon-Greene. Or Dixon and Dixon.
That was a thought (and a conversation) for another time, perhaps. One he suddenly found himself wanting to have, in a way he'd never let himself consider before. Yes, he'd be thinking about this again, when he had some time to himself.
Sooner, rather than later.
A/N: Is that the good kind of cliffhanger? Haha, I hope so. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this. Just wanted to note that I know Maggie and Glenn's baby is called Herschel in the show, but that is a "different" baby, because they were in a different place, etc. So they may call him (or her!) something different this time. We'll see. Let me know what you think and if you liked the little domestic moments this chapter... and the end, of course!