First Day

"Not bad for your first shift after four years." AJ nodded, closing up her coffee shop after a long and busy day.

"Yeah, I sort of surprised myself, too." Daryl admitted, stacking the chairs up onto the tables so they could sweep and mop the floors, "Although you work differently from Phil." He noticed.

"Really? What do you mean?" She smiled curiously.

"You serve the cakes first and then the coffee. Phil was always big on getting the coffee out first before food. And you take payment after you've served. Phil took it before." Daryl nodded, "It's just little things."

"He takes it before cause he's a tight ass." AJ rolled her eyes as Daryl chuckled, "I guess we all have our different ways of working."

"You know everyone's name by heart, too. Phil always had to ask me names." Daryl said.

"To be fair, I've been in this town longer than him. And he's getting old, babe. He's becoming forgetful." She teased as Daryl smiled, grabbing the brush to sweep the floors.

"It's good to see you two still going strong. I'm glad it really worked out for you both. And I can't believe that soppy idiot is actually building you a house." Daryl shook his head, still amazed by that revelation.

"He's a man of his word." AJ smiled.

"You're not scared?" He asked.

"Of what?" She said.

"You're building on top of the grounds of an ancient church. I'd be spooked out." Daryl said.

"The dead can't hurt you. It's all good." AJ shrugged, "So you're moving in with Finn today?"

"Yeah, I'm gonna start moving my stuff over when I finish up here." Daryl nodded, "I don't think I can live with my mom." He rolled his eyes.

"Why? She taking care of you too much?" AJ asked.

"Yeah, and constantly talking about Shiv and my responsibilities." Daryl said.

"She has a point. You do have responsibilities now." AJ nodded, "What's your approach?"

"Not got one." Daryl said, "It's still sinking in for me, honestly. I can't believe I have a kid. It's hard to process." He shook his head.

"Sometimes I'm still in disbelief when I see the twins running around. These little people that are mine. My responsibility." She said, "It is a scary thought."

"Yeah." Daryl nodded.

"But running from it… you'll regret it for the rest of your life." AJ assured him.

"I'm not going to run from it." Daryl said with agitation, "I just… I just don't know what to do. I don't know how to be a dad. It's easy for Shiv, she's been with Brianna since the second she was born. I feel like I've just been thrown in the deep end. And I'm definitely drowning." He nodded.

"It's easy for Shiv?" AJ questioned as Daryl looked at her, "She's had to raise Brianna by herself. Whenever I think about raising the twins without Phil, I… it makes me want to scream and cry." She said, "You have no idea how much strength Shiv has. She's not only raised a kid on her own. But she's raised a pretty damn decent kid. She's had no one to share all the good times and the bad. All the sleepless nights. The first steps and words. She's done it completely alone." AJ reminded him, "I guarantee you, it has not been easy for Shiv."

"You know I didn't mean it like that." Daryl mumbled.

"I think you did." AJ folded her arms as he looked at her, "I know being in prison must have been hell. Literal hell. But you're not the only one who suffered. You gotta remember that when you talk to her." She said.

"You don't understand." Daryl shook his head with frustration.

"What don't I understand?" AJ asked as Daryl sighed, sweeping the floor, trying hard not to tell AJ the truth. It was so easy to talk to her that he almost felt it coming out.

"It's like she's mad at me for not being there for her, but now that I am here, she doesn't want me." Daryl shrugged, "How do I figure that out?"

"It's gonna take some time." AJ nodded, "Maybe a lot of time. But it will get better. And you will be a good father. We all know you will." She said.

"They turned my cat against me." Daryl scoffed.

"What?" AJ shook her head, cashing up the register and looking over at him as he continued sweeping. Lyla had gone home early after AJ insisted, she and Daryl could close up.

"They got Laffy." Daryl said, "Laffayette. One of the kittens. My favourite kitten." He explained, "When I was at Shiv's place last night, he scratched the fuck out of me and started hissing."

"Brianna loves that cat." AJ nodded, "She carries it around and puts tiaras on it." She said as Daryl chuckled at the thought.

"Poor Laffy." Daryl said.

"Phil wants to get the twins a dog, but I know Rudy will just put her princess dresses on it and terrorise the poor thing." AJ shook her head as Daryl smiled.

"You know she gets her sass from Phil, right?" Daryl smiled over to her.

"Oh, I know." AJ chuckled.

"Shiv won't even talk to me. She said she would communicate with me about Brianna through my mom." He shook his head, "How are we supposed to get anywhere acting like that?"

"It's a small step. Maybe you start off by seeing Brianna when she's at your mom's. Take it from there." AJ suggested.

"What do I even say to a three-year-old? A three-year-old little girl?" He shook his head.

"You'll be surprised how your instincts will kick in. Especially the more you spend time with her and get to know her." AJ nodded.

"My mom said they talk about me to Brianna. They've showed her pictures, too." Daryl said.

"You thought they wouldn't?" AJ asked.

"I didn't think Shiv would." Daryl said.

"I hate to pry but… did something happen that night you killed Craig? Did you and Shiv have a fight or something?" AJ asked, "It's just… this angst and hostility you have towards each other… it feels like a lot more is going on." She said as Daryl just shook his head.

"She saw me shoot someone. Then I disappeared for four years. She never came to visit me. I thought that meant she had moved on with her life. Then I get out and realise she lost everything." Daryl shrugged, "And didn't tell me we have a daughter." He added, "I think that justifies a little hostility, don't you think?"

"Yeah, I guess." AJ nodded. Hearing him put it like that put it into better perspective.

"I just need to get used to living again. I've been stuck in the same rut for four years. Doing sit-ups and smoking cigarettes was pretty much all I did." He shook his head.

"An odd combination." AJ said as Daryl nodded.

"I think I just gotta take it a day at a time. And try to work out this… being a dad thing." He nodded.

"What about you and Shiv?" AJ dared to ask as Daryl continued sweeping.

"There is no me and Shiv." Daryl said, "Not any more."

"He did good. Little shaky when it came to talking to customers, but he was good." AJ nodded, sitting on the sofa with Punk later that night.

The twins had been for their bath and were fast asleep upstairs after Punk read them a bedtime story, which they mostly argued all the way through. Finally, there was peace and quiet for just the two of them as they cuddled on the sofa and enjoyed some donuts.

"I didn't doubt him." Punk nodded, "Customers weren't giving him odd looks, were they?" Punk asked.

"Some did, but he barely noticed. He was too busy trying to make good coffee, bless him." AJ smiled, "I think these past few days have been super overwhelming for him. He just needs to find his feet and… learn how to live normally again."

"He will with time." Punk nodded, "Shiv broke down today." He told her.

"Really?" AJ lifted her head to look up at him.

"Yeah. Lots of ugly crying." Punk said.

"My poor Shiv." AJ sighed, "She needs her friends around her. It's no use shutting us out."

"I think I did pretty well with handling it." Punk nodded.

"Really? You get so awkward when women cry." She said.

"Because I don't like it." Punk said, "She was just telling me about Daryl visiting her last night and how she doesn't know what to do now that he's here again. I told her just to take it slowly. One step at a time."

"God, we sound like broken records." AJ scoffed, "We'd be the worst therapists ever."

"What else can we say?" Punk said, "Then Finn had a meltdown about his baguettes which cheered her up and made her laugh."

"What happened with the baguettes?" AJ laughed.

"They were stale, apparently. He made me write a long email to our suppliers." Punk rolled his eyes as AJ chuckled.

"I wonder how him and Daryl will get on living with each other." AJ said.

"They'll be fine. They're good buddies." Punk nodded, having zero concerns about them living together, "Shiv also told me that I could fire her if I would rather Daryl work with me again. Of course, I told her that wasn't going to happen."

"The poor thing." AJ sighed, "Daryl is really worried about seeing Brianna. I tried my best to convince him that it wouldn't be as scary as he thinks, but I can't imagine how it would feel to meet your kid three years after they're born." She said, "I also asked him if he and Shiv had a fight or something the night Craig died."

"Why?" Punk asked.

"Just to see if there was more reason to why they're so… hostile." AJ said, "But he put it into perspective for me. Shiv watched him shoot someone. She must have been so scared that night. Then the guy she loves goes to prison whilst she finds out she's pregnant. And… listen to this… he mentioned about her not visiting him, so I think he was expecting her to come visit him in prison, but she never did."

"She never did because she was pregnant and didn't want him to know." Punk figured.

"And she didn't want him to know because she thought it would hurt him to know about the life he was going to miss. The daughter he was going to miss out on raising." AJ said, "And I think Shiv was ashamed that she dropped out of college and got kicked out of her parent's house." She added.

"God, we'd give the old ladies of this town a run for their money with our gossiping." Punk said, laughing a little as AJ smiled.

"What is marriage for, if not for sharing every thought and opinion with each other?" AJ shrugged, "I just care about them both so much, and I hate how things have turned out. It's just not fair."

"It's not." Punk nodded.

"And I still feel partly to blame. Craig showed up here looking for me-"

"Come on. We're not doing this again." Punk shook his head, "You are not to blame for any of this."

"If he wasn't looking for me, Daryl would never have encountered him or had to shoot him to defend his life." AJ sighed, "It still haunts me."

"It is not your fault some lunatic was trying to harass you and broke into our house. No one thinks that. Not Daryl and not Shiv." Punk assured her as she hugged into him tighter, "That bastard got what he deserved."

"Yeah." AJ said quietly.