A/N: Got a wild thought and followed it down the rabbit hole 10 years after my last update ...

Neither Jessilynn nor Philip spoke on the ride home, absorbed in their own thoughts about what had just happened. Philip marveled at the fact he had been given a second chance and was silently praising the Lord for His mercy. Jessilynn struggled between the happiness she felt her husband had been spared and the anger over the man he had been before he entered her life that nearly cost her now.

When they finally arrived at the cabin, they quickly unpacked and settled Carter in the laundry basket that currently served as his bassinet. He made no sound having already drifted to sleep after the day's excitement.

Jessilynn almost couldn't bear to look at Philip when they both exhaustedly made their way into the living room.

"You have a right, darlin', to be angry with me, but you gotta understand I was a different person then," Philip gently stated, taking a seat on the overstuffed chair and yanking off his boots.

Standing nearby, she took a deep breath before meeting his gaze.

"I know the Lord has forgiven you for that. What makes me angry is that you were willing to sacrifice yourself at the cost of leaving your son without a father to teach him how to be the kind of man I know you are now," Jessilynn quietly replied.

"I'm sorry, Jess," he softly said. "But I had to protect y'all in whatever way I could, even if it meant giving my life."

Tears welled up in her eyes. She swallowed and nodded, hugging herself.

"Come here," Philip said, reaching for her. She willingly complied as he gathered her in his lap.

Holding each other close and sharing tender kisses became a heated affair. The past several weeks Philip had refused to sleep with her, embarrassed he was so hard on for her yet convinced she needed time to heal after giving birth. He had resorted to getting himself off in private, not wanting to hurt her feelings.

Jessilynn knew she had recovered enough by now, and she desperately needed him. She didn't take long in reaching for his belt. He reached for her shirt and she momentarily shrank back.

"Don't be ashamed, darlin'! Those beautiful tits of yours nourish our son. I want to see 'em," Philip cooed. She relented and before long she was fully undressed and he wasn't sans an open shirt and his belt unbuckled.

"You're beautiful," Philip insisted when she tried to hide her stretch marks. He grabbed one of her hands and guided it around his fully erect cock. "See what you do to me?"

Jessilynn started to kneel between his legs to lick him and he shook his head.

"I need you too much," he said, urging her to straddle his waist. "Ride me hard like a prized stallion at the races instead."

"Yes, sir," she saucily replied.

THREE YEARS LATER …

Jessilynn was on her knees, digging and pulling weeds, despite her semi-rounded belly. Mason made babbling noises from his papoose-like wrap on her back. She smiled at his baby talk as she prepared the ground for another crop. Maybe this time she'd do potatoes, she mused, when suddenly the hidden outer boundary wire was tripped, setting off the tin can alarm and startling her out of her thoughts.

She immediately palmed her knives, ready to attack the intruder, whom she heard cussing. Only humans do that, Jessilynn told herself, not walkers. That made her more defensive. She sucked in a breath when the intruder came into view.

It was the man who had threatened to kill her husband years prior.

"Philip!" she shouted, praying he wasn't dead out there, that Carter wasn't dead either, murdered at the archer's behest. Philip had strapped the toddler to his chest so their eldest could see what his father saw and also stay out of harm's way should a walker attack from behind while Philip was hunting.

Daryl Dixon locked eyes with Jessilynn as he neared. He hadn't meant to get so far off the beaten path in his hunting trip. He never would have envisioned coming in contact with the Governor again.

The pregnant white blonde with a baby strapped to her back had called for her husband, whom Daryl expected to burst out of the house any moment now.

What Jessilynn didn't know was Philip was on his way back to the cabin when he heard the alarm and then her shout. He spotted Daryl and was out of his purview because Dixon was solely focused on Jessilynn.

He crouched low to the ground knowing that a wrong move could get him and Carter killed. Daryl heard him and swung around with his crossbow armed, releasing an arrow that swooshed right over Philip's head.

Carter giggled and clapped his hands thinking it was a game when his dad ducked even as Jessilynn slapped her hand over her mouth to stifle a scream in horror so as not to frighten Mason on her back.

Daryl fell to his knees horrified that he had nearly killed a child.

"It's alright, Daryl," Philip reassured him as he stood, Carter still giggling, and urged the archer to rise. "You were defending yourself."

Assured neither Philip or Carter were injured, Jessilynn chimed in.

"Join us for supper," she invited.

Daryl stowed his crossbow on the porch and reluctantly followed them into the cabin. Philip unharnessed and released Carter, who instantly went to Daryl his arms stretched upward.

"Up!" Carter demanded. Philip apologetically glanced at Daryl who shrugged.

Out of habit, Daryl automatically picked up the boy and perched him on one of his hips like he did with Judith.

Jessilynn had barely set Mason on the floor when the baby crawled his way toward the visitor and used Daryl's pant leg to pull himself up and earnestly looked at Daryl and his brother.

"Sorry," Jessilynn sheepishly said, "they don't see other people very often."

Daryl gave her a half-smile.

Daryl couldn't believe this man was the same man who had killed his brother. Philip had a wife and two kids with another on the way—during a zombie apocalypse.

Meanwhile, he hadn't been able to convince Carol they should even sleep together much less have babies. Not that he needed any rugrats around, but the Governor made it look so easy.

"Rather than camping outside tonight, why don't you sleep on the couch?" Philip invited. Daryl started to decline, but thought better of it. He hadn't had much rest out there anyway, so it wouldn't hurt to be in the safety of the cabin, sheltered from the weather, and fed a decent meal.