You shook your head, which laid on his chest, and nuzzled further into him, wrapping your arm around his body, underneath his arm.

“No, I can’t. I need to prove my worth here,” you said, opening your eyes and starring over at the open window opposite you with a wary look in your eyes.

As much as you did, you couldn’t help but feel like people were always judging your worth or your motives. You didn’t know if that was in your head or reality. All you knew was that’s how you felt most times you walked around here. The new world that you had desperately wanted for you and Daryl for as long as possible was turning out to be colder than you had imagined. Despite all of the anxiety you had for your own safety and insecurities you had pushed on, every single day as hard as you could. You did it for him, for your future together, and for the future of this safe haven.

“Ya don’t need to prove nothin’, Y/N. I’ll protect you,” Daryl said, hugging you as he said it.

He wanted nothing more than for you to finally be accepted her and put your mind at ease.

You smiled wider at his words, nuzzling into his neck and kissing it a few times before settling back into the crook.

“I know you can, baby. I just…I just need to prove myself as an equal here too. I have to,” you said, looking up at him with determined eyes.

Even though you didn’t often announce this worry out loud, he read it on your face every single time it crossed your mind. Which was more times than he had ever wanted when bringing you here. He wished like hell he could flash forward to a time when the people he knew and loved here would see how great you were. But all he could do was endure the first weeks of this new deal and hope that you and his family outside of you could somehow find common ground.

He looked back down into your eyes with worry, until he saw your resolve and nodded. He understood completely what that feeling was like and he admired how much you wanted to do this on your own merits. How could he say no?

So, he nodded, leaning down to kiss you softly. When he was done, he kissed your nose, then nuzzled it with his own, finally submitting to you.

“Alright. But, how about I let ya sleep a few more hours before we have to leave?” he asked, looking you over with loving concern again.

You looked up into his eyes and nodded, closing your eyes and then nuzzling into his body again, clinging onto him as if he was your only safety.

“Only if you stay here with me,” you said, starting to fall back asleep in his relaxing and loving arms.

Daryl smiled and settled his body further into yours until he was comfy, settling in to sleep next to you.

Once he did you smiled, and your eyes closed again. Daryl watched you fall quickly back asleep in his arms silently and contently. He dosed off soon after you did and you both fell into a peaceful slumber...

-----

You awoke before Daryl about an hour later. You had tossed and turned until your brain finally woke you up. You sat up and covered your mouth, feeling your stomach turning like crazy. You quickly ripped off the blanket over you and ran to the bathroom, where you hit your knees right in front of the toilet. You gripped it just seconds before you threw up the water and strawberries you had just eaten not too long ago.

“Ugh!” you groaned with disgust, wiping your mouth clean and quickly flushing the toilet.

That’s strange. You thought to yourself. You rarely, if ever, got sick. Maybe the strawberries had been bad you thought as you stood up and walked over to the sink. But your stomach did seem to be more sensitive the past week or so. You ran some cold water and splashed over your face, trying to cool it down.

“Y/N?” Daryl called out from the bedroom.

“Y/N, you alright?” he asked, looking over at the open door with confusion.

He had heard and felt you spring out of bed to the bathroom, waking him from his slumber.

“Yeah!” you shouted back, grabbing your toothbrush.

“I just wanted to make sure we weren’t going to be late!”  you shouted back, shoving the toothbrush in your mouth and washing it clean.

Within seconds Daryl was at the doorway of the bathroom.

He leaned up against it, looking over at you with an in-awe smile as he took you in. Even doing such a basic thing you looked like the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

You leaned over and spit, rinsing your mouth, and then looked back over at him.

“What?” you asked self-consciously as you watched him take you in, hoping you looked better than you felt.

He walked over behind you and wrapped his arms around your body, looking at you in his arms, through the mirror in front of you two. He smiled to himself at the image of the two of you bonded together as if you were one. And from now on you were. He loved that. He still couldn’t believe how lucky he was to have you all to himself, forever.

“I was just thinkin’ about how happy ya make me,” Daryl replied with a smile over at you through the reflective mirror.

You smiled back at him, your heart melting at his words.

“Really?” you asked, nuzzling your head into his as you stared back at him through the mirror all feelings of discomfort leaving your body as suddenly as they had come on.

You wrapped your arms around his, that held you so securely, leaning back into his body with complete loving security as you fell back into him.

“So, you’re not sick of me yet?” you asked, looking up at him in the reflection with a happy, amused smile.

He leaned over and whispered into your ear.

“Not possible,” he said, focusing his eyes on yours this time as you two pivoted together.

“Yeah?” you asked as you turned around and into him.

You wrapped your arms loosely around his neck, smiling wider as he wrapped his arms protectively around your waist and pulled your body into his.

He smiled back at you, leaning over and nudging his nose up into yours, his lips ghosting yours as he stared deep into your eyes.

“I’ve never loved you more,” he admitted with a smile of pure admiration.

He then closed his eyes and pushed his lips to yours.

You sighed happily as he kissed your lips gently a few times and then pushed his tongue into your mouth. You melted into his kiss as his tongue swirled passionately around yours, feeling instantly better at the feeling of him.

His hands immediately started to roam your back as he kissed you with more hunger.

You could feel how hard he was as he walked the two of you back into the counter behind you. As soon as your ass hit the edge of the counter Daryl brought his hand down in between your legs. He pushed his hand down into your panties and began to rub your pussy up and down.

“Ohhh, baby…” you whimpered at the feeling, pulling your lips away from his as your body fell back at his touch.

He grunted to himself, rubbing his leg up and down your inner thigh, trying to give his hard cock some relief. He was always so ready for you.

You groaned with confused happiness as you felt his hard cock running up and down your thigh, turning you on even more as his fingers played with you.

He pushed his lips to the side of your neck and began to harshly kiss it.

“Daryl…” you whimpered, closing your eyes and smiling to yourself at the feeling of him loving up on you.

He pulled his fingers out of you and ran his hands over and cupped your ass, under the fabric of your nightshirt, pulling your core into his.

“I need you, baby,” he whispered into your ear as he ran his hands eagerly up and down your ass with pure need.

“Do you think we have time?” you asked, trying to stay logical while he drove you fucking crazy for him.

“They can wait,” he said, leaning back over and pushing his tongue back in your mouth. He grabbed ahold of your tongue and began to swirl it around as fast as he could this time, causing you to moan happily into his kiss, completely submitting to him.

He knew that was all the convincing you needed. He brought his hands to the sides of your panties. He pulled his lips from yours long enough to step back and push them down to the ground.

He brought his hands to his pants, unbuttoning and unzipping them in front of you.

You stepped out of your panties and watched as he popped open his pants and pushed them to the ground. He stood back up and your eyes went wide with excitement as you watched his throbbing cock pop up to the middle of his bare stomach.

No matter how many times you two were together you were always amazed at how much he always wanted you and how good he always felt inside of you.

He walked over to you and pulled your shirt up.

You quickly raised your arms and allowed him to pull it up and off of you.

He then slammed his hand down on the counter beside you, silently ordering you to hop up.

You obeyed, quickly hopping up onto the counter. You spread your legs and brought your hands to the sides of his body. You stared down and watched as he grabbed his cock, stroking it a few times before bringing it to your pussy.

He ran it up and down your folds a few times and then swiftly pushed himself inside of you.

“Ah!” you cried out in pure pleasure as he shoved himself inside of you so quick.

His hands came quickly to the sides of your hips and ass. He gripped them tightly and began to thrust into you with full fervor.

You leaned into him, wrapping your arms around his neck and your legs around his lower back as quickly as you could to endure the brunt of his excited cock. You looked into his eyes with pure happy disbelief as he started to fuck you the way only he could.

His jaw clenched at the pure look of loving desire in your eyes as he started to thrust harshly into you.

You whimpered and locked eyes with his, looking back at him with happy disbelief at the feeling.

He got lost at the look in your eyes, and how beautiful you were loving every second of him inside you. He stopped his cock’s motion just as suddenly as he had started it. He then wrapped his arms firmly around your body and pulled you up into his arms.

You quickly adjusted, wrapping your arms tightly around his neck and resecuring your legs around his waist as he picked you up off the counter into his arms, still deep inside you.

“What are you doing?” you asked with a happy smile as he started to walk you out of the bathroom and back to the bedroom you shared.

“They can wait a few extra minutes…” Daryl said sweetly, walking you both back to your bed and laid you down onto it.

You two climbed up the bed in perfect unison until your head was back on your pillow and he was back on top of you, just the way you loved it.

He looked over into your eyes with a soft-hearted happy smile, pressing his lips sweetly to yours a few times before finishing his thought.

“…I wanna love my wife down right, just the way she deserves,” he finished with that sweet smile you loved so much.

You smiled back up at him, running your hand softly up and down his neck as you took him in. He was the most amazing man you had ever met and sometimes you still felt like meeting him had all been just a dream. But here he was every day reminding you that he was oh so very real and so very much in love with you. You felt the exact same way and you couldn’t believe that you had found such a love in the strangest of times.

“I love you, Daryl,” you said softly and with pure sincerity in your eyes, wishing you could freeze this moment in time forever.

His smile widened, and he nodded, nudging his nose up into yours and ghosting his lips with yours as he looked deep into your eyes.

“I love ya too, Y/N… Always,” he whispered, looking down at you and getting lost in all that you were and all that you had brought into his life since knowing you.

He couldn’t wait to spend every second of every day with you. He knew he would never get tired of having you by his side. You were his love, his rock, his everything. And he still couldn’t believe that he got to keep you for the rest of your lives.

You ran your hands down to the sides of his neck and placed them there, rocking your hips up and down his with a playful smile on your lips as you goaded him forward.

“Good. Now fuck me, baby,” you said with a slight whine in your voice.

He cocked his eyebrow at this as his eyes turned dark with desire for you again.

“With pleasure,” he said with another dark smile and then began to thrust his cock in and out of you again.

He started fast, hitting into you with pure driven lust-filled passion.

You moaned loudly, running your hands down to grip his shoulders as his cock pushed your body up and down with pure pleasurable force.

“Yeah? Ya like that?!” He grunted with pure excitement as he watched you loving his cock.

“Yes! Don’t stop!” you cried out loudly, rocking your hips up and down with more need as you felt your high coming.

He could tell you were close, so he sped up and increase his pressure on your core, just the way he knew you loved it.

“Ohh…Yes!! Don’t stop!” you moaned happily with every hit from his amazing cock.

He gave you everything he had, slamming harshly into you faster and harder until your hips locked up into his and you came so fast for him.

“Oh, God!? Yes, baby!!” you cried out as you hit your high, closing your eyes with a smile on your face as you enjoyed the amazing feeling buzzing through your body.

“Damn, girl!” Daryl grunted at the feeling of your pussy convulsing happily over his cock and the look on your face.

He sped up his cock, jackhammering into your hilt as fast as he could until he slammed into you and exploded deep inside you.

“Fuck!” Daryl growled, clenching his jaw shut and glaring you down as he came so hard because of you.

He growled again, slamming his cock into you again, pushing your threshold, prolonging his high.

You smiled up at him, bringing your hands back to his hair to massage it as he collapsed on top of you, burying his head safely into the side of your neck. You nuzzled your head into his lovingly, running fingertips softly up and down his back.

He was panting away his high into your neck, causing shivers of bliss to breakout across your skin.

You two enjoyed the post-coital bliss for a few minutes in happy silence. After a few minutes of silent bliss, he began to kiss your neck repeatedly, silently thanking you for the amazing feeling you had just given him.

You lightly patted his back.

“I think we should get going, baby. I don’t want to be late for my first run,” you said reluctantly.

He nodded into your neck, kissing your neck a few more times before leaning back to look back into your beautiful eyes.

“Are ya sure I can’t convince ya to stay here?” he asked, knowing the answer, but needing to ask one more time anyway.

You shook your head.

“I am coming with whether you like it or not, Dixon,” you said with a resolved smile.

He nodded, reluctantly, knowing that that would be your answer.

He then pulled himself out of you and rolled over onto his back. He watched as you got up off of the bed and walked over to your dresser. He watched as you pulled out an outfit to wear. He smiled to himself, rubbing his stomach absentmindedly as he watched you put on your panties, jean shorts, and your favorite black tank top. You looked over at him as you grabbed a pair of socks, noticing the dumfounding look on his face, watching you as you got dressed.

“What’s that look?” you asked curiously, hopping up onto the dresser as you put on your socks, looking over at him curiously again when you were done.

“Nothin’, it’s just… If it’s possible you look more beautiful than you ever have this morning,” he said looking over at you with pure loving admiration in his eyes.

You smiled and rolled your eyes, hopping off of the dresser and putting your hands on your hips.

“Don’t think that sweet talk is going to make me change my mind, mister,” you said with a pointed smile over at him.

He laughed and nodded in agreement. He got up and walked over to you, putting his hand on the side of your face as he looked over at you.

“So, damn, stubborn,” he said with a smile.

You brought your hands to rest on his hips and leaned into him.

“We wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t,” you said with another pointed smile, leaning up to kiss him.

You were swirling your tongues passionately around one another, getting lost again in one another when there was a rap on the front door. You pulled your lips from his.

“I told you!” you said, turning to walk towards the bedroom door to answer the front door.

You turned back around and looked his naked body up and down with admiration one more time before turning serious as your eyes came back to his.

“Get dressed, Romeo. We’ve got to get going,” you said, giving him another smile before turning and walking out of the door.

You walked down the hallway to the front door. You opened it to find Michonne standing on the other side of it.

She nodded a stern hello to you. She, along with most of Daryl’s family still hadn’t warmed up to you much since you had moved here. You guess you couldn’t blame them after what your father had done to them. But still, you were hopeful that one day they would accept you as one of their own. At least for Daryl’s sake.

“You ready?” Michonne asked, pure business on her face.

“Yeah, just give us a minute. We’ll meet you at the gate shortly,” you said with an apologetic smile.

If Michonne noticed, she didn’t let on that she did. She just nodded militantly and turned to walk towards the gate, her sword secured tightly on her back.

You grimaced and shut the door.

You turned back around to see Daryl now fully dressed, walking toward you with an awe-filled smile still on his face after your wonderful morning together.

You forced a small smile, trying to deny how nervous you were about today.

Daryl noticed the change in your demeanor and the look on his face turned to concern. He walked up to you and brought his hands up to cup your face.

“What’s wrong?” he asked with worry on his face.

You shook your head.

“It’s nothing…It’s just I don’t think they’ll ever accept me, Daryl,” you said looking up at him sadly.

He shook his head and then planted a few loving kisses on your lips before looking back into your eyes with resolve.

“Hey, don’t say that. They will. They just need time,” he said, trying to reassure you.

You looked away and shrugged, your confidence in that ever happening was obviously not very high.

“Y/N, they will come around. I know it. But right now? I need you to be focused on the job at hand. Because there is no way I’m allowing you out there if you aren’t focused on staying safe,” he said, dipping down and forcing your eyes back to his.

You smiled and nodded in agreement, taking a deep breath before answering him.

“You’re right. Alright, I’ll get my boots on,” you said.

Daryl nodded in agreement, breathing a sigh of relief. It was bad enough you insisted on coming out there where there was danger around every corner. He couldn’t have you distracted.

You two put your boots on in silence.

Daryl grabbed his crossbow, slinging it over his back, securing the strap around his chest. Daryl handed you your belt, which had two knife holsters on it. You quickly slipped the belt around your belt loops, buckling it tightly. He then handed you two knives that he had welded for you. You grabbed them and holstered them securely on both your sides.

Daryl brought his hand to your chin, grabbing it securely, and then looked seriously into your eyes.

“You stay by my side at all times, got it?” he asked, worry flashing across his face as he thought about all that could happen to you, the most precious thing he had ever cared about.

You nodded, smiling up at him with reassurance.

“I promise,” you said, knowing how worried he really was to have you out there.

You? You couldn’t wait to step foot outside and finally be free from any kind of walls. But you also didn’t want to die either. So, you would do as Daryl said. Even if you usually would fight him on it. You didn’t want to mess up anything. You wanted to be with this man, here at his home, for as long as you could. Hopefully, forever. So, you agreed to his terms with sincerity.

Daryl searched your face with worry on his, trying to find any ounce of defiance in his order in yours. When he was sure there was none and that you had fully agreed he took a deep breath and nodded. He dropped his hands from your face and grabbed your hand, holding it tightly in his.

He nudged his head towards the door.

“Come on,” he said and then pulled you away with him out of the house.

You shut the door behind you and then walked hand in hand with Daryl down the steps of your house and the streets of Alexandria.

You looked around nervously as you locked eyes with people as you passed. Most gave you a look of unease, some even hid their children behind them protectively as you walked past them.

Daryl noticed, his heart pinging with sadness at the look of uneasy sadness on your face as you tried your hardest not to feel it fully.

He nudged your shoulder with his.

“Hey,” he said, waiting for your eyes to come back to his at his behest.

“You here with me?” he asked with concern.

You smiled over at him, getting lost in his eyes as you always did, and nodded. You leaned your head onto his shoulder and squeezed his hand tightly as you forced your eyes forward towards the gate.

“Always,” you said, smiling genuinely as you remembered the love you had for this amazing man and why you chose to endure this.

You reminded yourself that nothing and no one would ever get in the way of you two being together.

He smiled happily to himself, kissing the top of your head sweetly before forcing his own eyes ahead to the gate and to the group you were going out with today.

You and Daryl walked up to Michonne, Rick, and Aaron, hand in hand. You straightened out as you grew closer to the group, noticing their wary eyes as they took the image of you two together in.

Rick was the first one to walk towards you two, looking over at Daryl and nodding seriously over at him.

“You ready?” Rick asked him,

Daryl nodded, squeezing your hand with silent support for you.

“Yeah, *we’re* ready,” Daryl replied, emphasizing the fact that you were also here to help.

Rick nodded again, looking over at you with a hard apology in his eyes and demeanor.

“Y/N,” he said politely and then turned and walked back towards Michonne and Aaron.

You looked over at Daryl with unsure eyes again, your nerves getting the better of you.

He leaned over, kissed your forehead, and then cupped the side of your cheek with his free hand before speaking to you again.

“Don’t worry, Y/N. Just stay with me,” he said with a comforting smile.

You smiled back, relaxing a little at just how much you loved this man.

“Okay,” you said, nodding in agreement back to him.

He nodded back and then you both gave your attention back to the others. Rick and Daryl nodded to one another and then Rick began to tell you all what the plan was for today’s run.

“Alright, today’s mission is like any other, to get as much supplies as we can to bring back for our people. Michonne and I found an old-abandoned farm not too far from here. It is fenced in and as far as we can tell is free from walkers. We have spotted a big garden with plenty of food on the vines. It looks like this place has been well-tended to up until now. Not sure what happened to the people living there, but we are going to use their absence to our advantage. Aaron, Michonne, and I will take the truck while Daryl and Y/N, follow behind us,” Rick stated, looking over at you warily for a moment and then over to Daryl.

“Daryl your job is to make sure you give us a heads up if you see anyone coming, dead or alive,” Rick ordered.

Daryl nodded in agreement.

“Keep your walkies on at all times. But only use them if you have to. We don’t know who’s out there listening,” Rick instructed everyone.

He reached into the back of the truck and pulled out a walkie, bringing it over and handing it to you.

You took it and secured it behind you, clipping it to your jean shorts.

Rick then looked around at everyone with his ever serious eyes and tone.

“Let’s get out there and start re-building what has been taken from us,” Rick said, clenching his jaw and resisting the urge to glance back over at you with his comment.

That didn’t stop Michonne though, she looked straight into your eyes with a wary harsh glare.

You looked away, trying to ignore her glare and focus on the mission at hand. Which would hopefully begin to earn you some trust with these people.

“Alright, let’s head out,” Rick said, twirling his finger around in the air as he walked over to the driver’s side door.

He opened it and hopped inside. Aaron went to the other side and hopped in. Michonne climbed up onto the back of the truck bed, sitting and leaning against the back of the truck’s cab. She slammed her hand on the window above her, signaling to Rick that she was secure and ready to go.

“Come on,” Daryl said and pulled you over to his bike.

He dropped your hand and slung his leg over, sitting easily on the big piece of metal.

You followed him and slung your leg over, settling in behind him. You put your hands on his sides to secure yourself to him and the bike.

He looked back at you silently asking you if you were ready. You nodded and looked forward towards the gate with resolve.

Daryl kicked up his kickstand and pushed his foot harshly down onto the pedal below, igniting the engine with a loud roar.

You quickly wrapped your arms around his body and leaned yours into his with slight fear. You had never ridden his bike with him before. So, this would be another new experience for the two of you.

Daryl felt your tight grip on him and looked back at you with a smirk.

“Hold on, darlin’,” he said, his smirk widening at the sight of you, of all people, being so nervous.

“Shut up and drive, Dixon,” you said with a playful smile, trying to ignore the butterflies in your stomach.

Daryl smiled sweetly back at you as your spitfire nature returned to your being.

“Yes, ma’am,” Daryl said with another sweet smile over at you before turning his eyes and attention back to the road ahead.

The bike jolted ahead, and you watched as you both followed the truck to the gate.

The gate opened and away you all went. You held onto Daryl tightly as you took off together after the truck. You looked back and watched as the people quickly closed and locked the gate behind you, but not before you saw the look of anger on Sasha and Rosita’s faces as they did so.

You forced your mind and attention forward to the task at hand, ignoring the sudden urge to throw up again at the look on their faces. You took a few deep breaths trying to calm your upset stomach as you tried to focus on the mission at hand.

Daryl noticed your wavering body behind him, your grip loosening for a moment before you gripped him even tighter than before.

He looked back at you with concern.

“Ya alright?” he asked with a look of worry on his face.

You gulped back the sensation to puke because of your nerves and nodded over at him with a look of resolve on your face.

“Yeah. I’m okay, let’s just get this over with,” you said, your voice breaking at the end of your sentence, now wishing you hadn’t agreed to come out with him, but knowing you needed to prove your worth to the people your dad had wronged so deeply.

He looked you over with concern again and then nodded, turning his head and mind back toward the mission, knowing how important this was to you and the group.

You held on tightly to him as you all drove forward on the dirt road. You looked around and noticed a few walkers staggering slowly toward the sound of your vehicles far off into the distance. Your heart started to race as you watched them stretch out their arms following you. You shivered a little at the sight. You hugged Daryl, laying your head on his back and closing your eyes, trying to calm your nausea at the sight of the monsters.

You kept your eyes closed, hugging him tightly as the bike sped along, turning here and there until you felt it come to a stop.

Daryl kicked the kickstand down and the bike leaned to the side as it settled into its parked position.

You opened your eyes and noticed a big white farmhouse to the right of you. It was at least two stories with an attic. It was fenced in by a beautiful wooden fence that wrapped all the way around the property. There was a big red barn behind the house with a huge overgrown garden. From here you could see ripe tomatoes, cucumbers, corn, and what looked like squash growing under the massive vines.

You smiled at the sight of what looked like a glimpse of the old world. You imagined children running around playing in the yard while their parents watched them from their rocking chairs that now were empty on the front porch.

“We’re here,” Daryl said, looking back towards you, noticing you were still hugging him so tightly.

You rested your chin on his shoulder and looked over at him with the same happy smile.

“It’s beautiful here,” you said to him, a glimmer of hope filling your eyes at your vision of the future.

Daryl smiled softly back at you, knowing that look in your eyes by now.

“Yeah. It is,” he said softly, getting lost in your eyes for a moment until he heard the sound of the truck doors slamming shut.

“Come on, Y/N. Let’s get this done so I can get you back home,” he said with a nod of his head.

You sighed, slumping a little but nodded in agreement.

You let unwrapped your arms around him, bringing your hands up to his shoulders to brace on them as you swung off of the bike. Once your feet hit the gravel, your head started to spin a little, causing you to brace your hand on the side of his arm for a moment.

“What’s wrong?” Daryl asked, looking you over with concern again.

He had never seen you so off-kilter as you had been the past few days. He was starting to worry there was something wrong with you. And that worried him more than anything else in the world.

You shook your head, closing your eyes as your dizziness slowly subsided, bringing your hands to your hips as you steadied yourself.

“Nothing. I’m okay. I must just have some vertigo from the bike,” you said, trying to shake the dizziness from your being.

Rick, Michonne, and Aaron walked over to you two as Daryl swung his leg quickly over his bike and came to your side.

“You two ready?” Rick asked, looking over at the state of you, and then looked over at Daryl with confusion in his eyes.

You nodded, forcing your eyes to Rick’s.

“Yeah, we’re ready,” you said with hard resolve in your eyes.

You looked back at Daryl with a reassuring yet weak smile.

Daryl narrowed his eyes, looking you over with uncertainty. If it was up to him, he would have taken you home this instant to get you checked out by the Doc. But this was important to you. So, he nodded back to you and then forced his eyes back over to Rick’s.

“Yeah,” Daryl concurred, nodding over to Rick.

Rick looked you over again, noticing how sickly you looked, and then looked over at Aaron.

“Why don’t you two take the garden. Aaron, drive the truck up to it and you two can start filling the buckets with any vegetables you can find,” Rick instructed.

Aaron nodded, looking over at you with wary but kind eyes.

You looked over at Aaron and then back at Daryl with unease. Daryl noticed and leaned over to kiss your cheek and then whisper into your ear.

“It’s alright, Y/N. Aaron’s good people. I trust him with you,” he whispered, looking over at you with another reassuring smile.

You smiled back and nodded, taking a few deep breaths of courage before looking back at Rick for further instructions.

“Michonne, Daryl, you’re with me. We’re going to case the house and if it is empty, we will scavenge everything useful we can find. Grab the bags from the back of the truck and let’s get going,” Rick ordered with another hard nod at Daryl and Michonne.

They both nodded back. Michonne went to grab a couple of big duffel bags from the back of the truck.

Daryl looked over at you unsurely one more time before walking in front of you, turning his back on the others. He looked you over as he cupped your face, softly caressing the sides of them with his thumbs as he leaned down to kiss your forehead sweetly.

When he was done, he leaned back, his hands still securely hold onto your face, and spoke.

“Ya need anything, just call,” he said with sweet concern in his eyes.

You nodded, bringing your hand down to pat the top of his walkie on his hip as you answered.

“I will. I promise,” you said, leaning up to give him one last sweet kiss on his lips before dropping back to your feet.

“Be safe,” you said, your turn to think about all the things that could go wrong here.

“I’m comin’ back to ya, always. I promise ya that,” he said with nothing but pure love and admiration in his eyes as he looked you over.

Even after all this time, you were still the most beautiful thing he had ever laid his eyes on.

He nodded slowly, dropping his hands reluctantly from you after one more sweet kiss on your forehead.

You two nodded your silent goodbyes to one another and then Daryl turned back towards the group.

Daryl looked over at Aaron silently telling him to take care of you.

Aaron picked up on it right away and nodded back to him, showing Daryl that he would do whatever he could to make sure he kept you safe.

Once Daryl was convinced, he took one more loving look at you and then walked to the truck, grabbing two more duffel bags, and followed Michonne away towards the house. Rick nodded a polite goodbye to you and Aaron before grabbing two bags himself and following the other two.

You watched them all easily hop the fence and walk towards the farmhouse. Daryl looked back at you several times before forcing his focus forward.

You watched him walk away from you with nothing but a sad longing in your eyes. Every step away from you made your heart ache more.

“Well, I guess we should get started. Rick really does run a tight ship,” Aaron said, looking over at you with a reassuring smile.

You looked back over at him and noticed his pleasant demeanor toward you.

You offered a small smile back and nodded in agreement.

“Why don’t I open the gate. You can drive through, I’ll close it, and we can head over to the garden,” he suggested.

“Sure. Sounds good,” you agreed.

You started to walk over to the driver’s side door of the truck when Aaron placed his hand gently on your shoulder. This caused you to stop and look over at him curiously at his touch.

Aaron smiled over at you again.

“For what it’s worth? I feel the same way every time I have to leave Eric behind,” he said with a nod of his head and dropped his hand.

“Thanks,” you said offering him a sweeter smile this time at his olive branch towards you.

He nodded again and began to walk towards the gate of the fence just a few yards away.

You followed suit and walked over to the driver’s side door. You opened it and climbed inside, shutting it and starting the ignition. As you did so, you looked out your window, scanning the area for any signs of danger. You saw none. Instead, all you heard was the peaceful whipping of the wind and the cawing of birds in the air above you.

You started the engine and put the truck into drive, looking over and watching as Aaron opened the gate.

He ushered you and the truck over with his hands.

You stepped onto the gas pedal and slowly drove the truck over and into the property. You pressed your foot onto the brake pedal, holding it there as you watched Aaron shutting the gate in your side mirror. After he was done, he walked over to the passenger side door and swung it open. He climbed easily up into the cab and sat down, shutting the door and then nodding over at you.

“Alright, let’s get us some food,” he said with an easy smile, looking happily over at the overly plentiful garden ahead of you.

You smiled over at his easy nature and nodded in agreement, your stomach growling at the thought of food. You pressed your foot to the gas pedal and drove the truck right up alongside the overgrown garden.

You two looked over at it with happy smiles on your faces.

“Wow! Look at all that!” you said with enthusiasm.

Aaron nodded in agreement.

“Looks like we will eat well tonight. Let’s start gathering,” Aaron said, opening the door and quickly climbing down to grab two of the buckets from the back and then walked over to the garden.

You did the same, climbing down from the truck, grabbing two buckets of your own, and following him into the generous garden. You were careful not to step on the vines and the plants as you made your way inside of it, behind Aaron.

You stopped at the tomatoes, putting your buckets down, careful to move the plants aside to do so. You began to pick them, placing them carefully inside the bucket. You looked over with worry every so often at the house that Daryl had disappeared into with Rick and Michonne.

Aaron went to work picking the cucumbers, looking over at you curiously every so often. He noticed your obvious worry and love for Daryl, shaking his head and smiling to himself as he bent down to pick a few more.

“You know…Not to brag. But I am an excellent judge of character…” Aaron started locking eyes with yours as you two worked together.

“…And I think people are wrong about you,” he finished with a smile over at you.

You looked over at him, surprised by his words, but smiled graciously back over at him before responding.

“Really?” you asked with a surprised smile over at him as you continued working together.

Aaron smiled again and nodded.

“Really,” he said, turning his attention back to the task at hand.

You smiled over at him one more time before doing the same. You two picked veggies together in comfortable silence, filling up bucket after bucket under the hot Georgia sun. You started to feel faint again after a while and stood up, putting a hand on your forehead. You closed your eyes and focused on your breathing, feeling nausea hit you again.

Aaron noticed and immediately came to your side.

He looked you over with concern. He leaned down and grabbed a ripe tomato and handed it to you.

“Here. Eat somethin’,” Aaron said as he offered you the tomato.

You opened your eyes and nodded, gratefully taking the tomato and biting into it with exhausted hunger.

“Thanks,” you said before taking another famished bite.

“Here, why don’t you sit down,” Aaron said, taking your arm timidly and guiding you to a nearby gardening chair.

You obliged, your head spinning again.

Aaron helped you sit down and then walked over to the back of the truck. He pulled out a bottle of water and brought it quickly back over to you.

“Here, take a drink,” Aaron said, kneeling down and handing it to you.

You took it, quickly opening the top of the bottle and guzzling it down quickly.

You pulled the bottle from your lips and wiped your mouth with the back of your hand, taking in a few deep breaths of relief as your body thanked you for the nourishment. You smiled to yourself at the sense of satisfaction a moment before remembering you weren’t alone. You looked up at Aaron with a grateful nod as you handed him back the nearly empty bottle back.

He held his palm out at you.

“No, no. It looks like you need it more than I do,” Aaron said looking you over with concern again.

“Have you been feeling sick?” Aaron asked as he took in your state.

You shrugged, gulping down the last of the bottle before resting your arms on your thighs and responding to him.

“I’m alright. I’ve just been a little dizzy and sick to my stomach lately,” you admitted to him, looking longingly over at the house where Daryl was busy at work, wishing he was here to comfort you.

Aaron followed your lovesick gaze and smiled to himself before looking over at you again.

“Well, I don’t want to tell you what to do by any means. But I’d definitely pay a visit to the Doc when we get back,” he said.

You looked over at him quizzically.

“Why? I don’t have a fever or anything. Maybe just some vertigo,” you said, looking up at him with question.

Aaron laughed a little to himself again and then looked over at you.

“There might be more than just a fever you should know about,” he said looking pointedly at you before walking back over to continue his task.

You looked back at the house, wishing you would see Daryl emerge already, completely confused at what Aaron meant.

You felt better after having something to eat and the water. After another few moments of rest, you walked back over and helped him finish salvaging the garden.

After a while longer, you looked up at the house and noticed the trio finally exiting the house, Daryl following Rick and Michonne out with what looked like full duffel bags in each of their hands.

You breathed a sigh of relief, standing up and smiling happily to yourself at the sight of him walking back to you.

He walked down the steps with the two bags in his hands and looked over at you from the distance between you two.

You quickly put the last few squash on the vines below your feet into the bucket beside you and walked over to him.

You ignored Rick and Michonne’s eyes on you completely as you two walked into the middle of the yard, finally reunited with one another. You walked swiftly into him and hugged him wholeheartedly, loving the feeling of your bodies and souls being reunited after what had seemed like forever to you.

He dropped his bags just in time, and wrapped his big, beautiful arms around you, lifting you up into him for a great big bear hug.

You wrapped your arms around his neck as he did so, hugging him tightly as you kissed his neck and then rested your head on the side of his shoulder. You held onto him tightly, tighter than you ever had as you smiled to yourself at the feeling of being back in his arms.

He dropped you back to your feet and you looked up at him like he had been gone forever.

“I was only gone a little while,” he said with a small smile at the look of pure love in your eyes for his return to you.

“I know. I just missed you,” you said with a sweet smile, your nerves finally calming at the sight of him safe and okay.

He smiled sweetly over at your relief to have him back with you. He brought his hand up to cup the side of your face, silently telling you how much he loved you too with only his eyes, and then kissed your forehead.

“Come on. Let’s go home,” Daryl said with another sweet smile.

You nodded, trying to fight your nerves as you turned around to face the group again.

Daryl picked up the bags and followed you over to the truck parked near the garden. You looked over at Aaron and smiled gratefully over at him for being so kind to you today.

He smiled and nodded a silent your welcome before loading up the last two buckets that were filled with veggies from the garden.

Daryl, Rick, and Michonne all dropped their filled bags into the back of the truck. Rick looked over the harvested food and the filled bags with a hopeful smile on his face, the first time in a long time he had been able to do that.

He looked over at you for a second. He had to admit that all of this was theirs to keep because of you and what you had done for them and their community. He nodded a silent thank you to you, much to your surprise.

Daryl walked over and grabbed your hand holding it in his as he stood there protectively by your side.

Rick noticed this and nodded over at Daryl with a silent apology.

Daryl nodded back.

You watched as the two men made their apologies in complete silence, smiling to yourself as you watched Daryl’s shoulders relax a bit afterward.

“Alright, let’s get this back to Alexandria and start going through what we’ve found today. Good job, everyone,” Rick said, looking over at you with one last polite nod before he turned and walked to the driver’s side of the truck.

Michonne climbed into the back of the truck reclaiming her position at the back of the cab. Aaron was about to get into the truck when he looked over at you and Daryl.

“Daryl, you have a second?” Aaron asked him.

Daryl looked over at him curiously and nodded.

Daryl’s hand dropped away from yours and you watched Aaron and Daryl walk a few feet away from everyone. You couldn’t hear what they were saying, but they both looked over at you with concern in their eyes as they began to walk back over to the group. Daryl patted Aaron on the shoulder and then walked back over to you.

“Come on,” Daryl said, grabbing your hand and walking you back over to his bike.

“What was that about?” you asked as you walked away with him.

He looked you over with concern again before bringing his worried eyes back to yours.

“Aaron said we should get you to the Doc when we get back. Said he was worried ya might have somethin’,” he said.

You nodded in complete agreement with him for once. You held your hand to your stomach as another wave of nausea hit you.

“Yeah. I have been feeling pretty sick lately. Maybe that’s a good idea,” you said, taking a few deep breaths as you tried to calm your stomach.

“Ya alright to ride back with me?” he asked, noticing you were sick to your stomach again.

You nodded.

“Yeah, let’s just get home,” you said with a weak smile.

He nodded, looking over at you with concern again before forcing his eyes and feet forward. He walked you both back to his bike and slung himself over, sitting down on the seat. He moved forward to allow room for you and nudged his head back to you.

“Get one,” he instructed as he kicked up the kickstand and revved the engine to life.

You quickly got on behind him, wrapping your arms securely behind him and resting your head on his back. You closed your eyes as the bike jolted forward. You tried to focus on the cool air that blew across your face as you two rode back to Alexandria, following behind Rick and the truck.

When you got back to Alexandria, you opened your eyes, watching Daryl idle watching impatiently for the gate to open. Once it did, you all drove through. You heard the gate clink shut from behind you. Daryl drove you right up to the Doc’s house, parking the bike on the side of the road.

You sighed in relief at the feeling of the bike coming to a halt. Daryl put out the kickstand. You brought your hands back to his shoulders and braced on them as you weakly got down off the bike. You stood there in a haze for a moment before your hand came to your mouth and you gagged. You quickly walked over to some nearby bushes and threw up the water and tomato you had eaten.

“Ick…” you muttered to yourself as you wiped your mouth, your eyes watering with sick pain in your eyes.

Daryl was beside you in an instant, rubbing your back softly as you purged your system.

You looked over at him with an embarrassed smile.

“Well, that’s a new milestone for us. I’m sorry,” you said with another weak smile as you clutched your stomach.

“Don’t be. Let’s just get you in there and see how the Doc can help,” he said with nothing but sympathy for you in his eyes.

He didn’t like seeing you in pain or discomfort.

You nodded, letting him take your hand and walk you both to the front door. Daryl knocked loudly on the front door, pounding on it until it opened.

“Alright, alright, I’m coming,” the Doc said as he swung the door open, looking at Daryl with slight annoyance.

He then looked over at you and noticed the state of you. Your face was clammy, and you looked like you were about to fall over.

“Come in. Come in,” he said stepping aside and ushering you both inside.

Daryl helped guide you inside of the house, following the Doc as he walked you both to the backroom that was frequently used for examinations.

“She’s been feelin’ real sick lately, Doc. You’ve got to look her over,” Daryl said looking you over with worry again.

You noticed this and smiled up at him reassuringly.

“I’m sure it’s fine, Daryl. It’s probably just a stomach bug,” you said, squeezing his hand tighter.

Daryl licked his lips and nodded repeatedly, trying to believe that it was something minor. But in this world, he was too scared of losing you not to go to the extremes inside his head.

“Daryl, why don’t you wait outside while I look her over,” the Doc said, putting his black stethoscope around his neck.

“Go ahead, Daryl. I’m okay,” you said, noticing the look of defiance in his eyes.

He looked you over to make sure you meant your words. When he was sure you did, he nodded again and kissed your cheek.

“I’ll be right outside those doors,” he said, cupping your face as he stared deeply into your eyes.

You nodded, smiling sweetly back at him.

“Go,” you said softly, squeezing his hand one more time before dropping it from his.

He nodded, looking over at you warily one more time before he dropped his hands from you and turned to walk out the door. Before he left, he looked back at you again and said, “I’ll be right here.”

You nodded, smiling happily back at him before you turned your attention to the Doc. You heard Daryl close the door as you smiled politely over at the Doc.

“Why don’t you come sit down and I’ll take a look,” the Doc said, gesturing with his hand to sit on the cot set up in the middle of the room.

You obeyed and sat on the cot with your hands in your lap.

“So, how have you been feeling lately,” he asked, taking a look into each of your eyes before moving his hands down to your neck, checking your lymph nodes.

“I guess I have been more tired than usual, and I’ve been really sick to my stomach lately,” you said.

“Mhm,” the Doc said, putting the stethoscope earbuds into his ears, bringing the flat plate over to your chest.

“Take a few deep breaths,” he said, placing the plate on your chest.

You took a few slow deep breaths as he placed the plate around your chest, listening intently.

After a few more deep breaths, he dropped the plate and took the earbuds out of his ears, hanging it back around his neck. He brought his hands to your stomach, pressing on it near your side.

“Does this hurt?” he asked, checking the area where your appendix was located.

“No,” you answered.

“Have you been having any aches and pains lately?” he asked.

You shrugged.

“I mean aside from the usual wear and tear I guess my body has seemed more tender than usual,” you said.

“Where has it been tender?” he asked you.

You looked up at him embarrassed as you gestured to your breasts.

He nodded again, walking over to a big cabinet, opening the doors, and grabbing something inside of it.

“Any motion sickness?” he asked, holding something in his hand as he walked back over to you.

“Yes, definitely,” you said, nodding as you peered curiously over at whatever was in his hand.

“Here, I think you should take this test,” he said and handed you a box.

You took it from him and looked over at it curiously.

It was a pregnancy test.

You looked up at him in pure shock.

He laughed a little at your reaction.

“I don’t see any symptoms of inflamed lymph nodes or an inflamed appendix. The symptoms you are describing can also be the symptoms of a woman’s first trimester,” he said, matter-of-factly.

You stared down at the box in your hand and nodded, still in shock at this.

“When was the last time you had your period?” he asked.

You searched your mind.

“I guess it has been quite a while,” you admitted, just now realizing how late you were.

“You can use the bathroom back there if you would like,” the Doc said, gesturing to a door behind you.

You looked over at the closed door where Daryl had exited, wondering if you should tell him. You decided to wait until you yourself knew for sure. You slowly got up and walked over to the bathroom door in a haze.

You walked inside, closing and locking the door behind you. You unbuttoned your jean shorts and pulled them and your panties down as you sat down on the toilet. You opened the box, taking the test stick out from the packaging. You read the instructions carefully, one line meant no, and two lines meant yes.

You brought the stick down, shifting awkwardly as you tried to line it up, and then began peeing. You took the stick out after you had wettened it and set it on the edge of the sink next to you. You wiped and got up fastening your shorts and walking over to the sink. You stared at yourself in the mirror as you washed your hands clean.

Were you really ready to be a mother? You wondered. You looked up at the clock on the wall, marking the time. The box said you had to wait five minutes. You walked over at sat down on the edge of the tub to wait, staring at your hands as your mind raced with so many thoughts and questions.

You tried to stay calm, reminding yourself that it could be negative. Then your thoughts turned to Daryl. You smiled to yourself at the thought of him holding your child making them laugh or smile. You thought about how much you had wanted a family with him. You just didn’t know it would happen so soon. Although would you really be that surprised with how active you two had been since day one?

You stared up at the clock every so often, lost in your confused thoughts until it was time to look.

The clock ticked to the five-minute mark. You ran your hands up and down your thighs a few times before you took a deep breath and got up. You walked over to the sink and picked up the stick.

It was Positive.

Your stomach did a flip at the sight of the positive result. You felt like you were in a dream as you set it back down on the sink and walked back out into the Doc’s exam room.

From the look of shock on your face, the Doc figured out the answer.

You didn’t even look at him as you slowly walked over to the door and opened it.

Daryl quickly rose to his feet, looking you over with concern. His hands came to your body, bringing them back to your face to cup it.

You had the strangest shocked look on your face, which immediately made him think something was wrong.

“What’s wrong, Y/N? Is everything alright?” he asked as he checked you over with anxious panic now.

You slowly nodded, bringing your in-shock eyes back to his.

“I’m-I’m pregnant,” you said, looking over at him in pure shock as you pushed out the words.

Daryl’s hands dropped from your face and he stepped back a bit, looking over at you with his own pure shock in his eyes.

“What?” he asked, feeling like he had misheard you.

“I’m pregnant,” you said with more conviction this time.

Daryl stared over at you in disbelief for a few seconds before walking into you and wrapping you up into his arms, giving you a big hug.

You smiled and laughed a little at the sheer force of his happy hug. After what seemed like a five-minute hug, he finally brought his hands to your shoulders, pulling you two apart just enough to be able to see your face again.

He had the happiest smile on his face that you had ever seen. You even thought you saw a few tears starting but he quickly pushed them away.

The Doc came over with a happy smile.

“Congratulations you two, you’re going to be parents,” he said, reaching his hand out to shake Daryl’s.

Daryl took it shaking it firmly as he brought his attention to the Doc.

“Is she gonna be okay? How far along is she? What do I need to do for her?” Daryl asked, suddenly having a million questions running through his mind.

The Doc chuckled a little before responding.

“She’s going to be just fine, Daryl. We’ll set up a weekly appointment for her to make sure we catch anything that could be problematic. In the meantime, she will need lots of rest. So, I would suggest no more runs for her unless it is absolutely necessary. Times have obviously changed. The body can fall prey easier to pregnancy without technology to help guide us. So, the less strain she puts on her body the better,” the Doc said to Daryl.

Daryl nodded, already making a list in his mind of all of the things you were no longer going to be doing.

“As for how far along, if I had to guess I would say you are around 5 or 6 weeks pregnant,” he said to you.

You looked down at your stomach, placing your hand on it. It was mind-boggling to you that you had been with this child for so long already and didn’t know it.

“Get plenty of rest and I’d suggest more soup-based meals until your morning sickness subsides. Your body will tell you what it needs with your cravings and we will do the best we can to accommodate that. I’ll also put prenatal vitamins on the next run list for you,” the Doctor said to you both.

“Just tell me where to look and I’ll get them,” Daryl said to the Doc.

The Doc nodded back to him.

“Very good, I’ll plot you out a map of places that could have them and get it to you by the morning,” he replied.

He then looked over at you two with another smile.

“I’ll let you two settle into the news. But if you have any more questions you know where to find me,” he said, nodding politely again before walking back into the exam room and closing the door behind him.

Daryl looked back at you.

You both stared at each other in shocked silence for a minute before you spoke, still holding your hand protectively over your stomach.

“Are you…okay with this?” you asked with slight worry on your face that he might not be.

He cupped the side of your face and looked lovingly back into your eyes.

“Are ya kidding me, Y/N? I can’t wait to meet our little creation,” he said with a sappy smile on his lips.

You smiled back up and him and nodded, imagining the spitfire that you two probably created.

“Ya just keep surprisin’ me, Y/N…” he said, tenderly caressing your cheek with his thumb as he looked at you in complete awe.

“I love you, Y/N. And I’m gonna love this kid just as much,” he said, with a happy dumbstruck smile.

You smiled sweetly back over at him. The look of pure love in his eyes squashed any doubt you had in your mind about this being a mistake. He was going to be a great dad.

“I love you, too, Daryl,” you said in awe of him, even more so now than ever before.

Whatever came next, you knew he would take care of you and this child so damn well…

—–