Chapter 38
Gabrielle was absently drying a glass in the kitchen when she heard the bike pull up. There was no mistaking the sound of that engine. It was unique as her husband was. Fear caused her to start to shake. She had been waiting for him all night and now she would find out if he still wanted to stay married.
She knew that they had never talked about kids and that Daryl's childhood was anything but good, but she did not expect the reaction she got from him. Surprise and shock…definitely. Nervous and afraid of the responsibilities it entailed…of course, but the anger and accusations he threw at her were heartbreaking. How could he believe that she would do that on purpose without talking to him? Did he not know her at all?
After he stormed out of the house, and she had herself a really long cry before she called Michonne. She needed her friend to guide and soothe her. Michonne excelled at both. The panic she felt when Daryl walked out on her and the subsequent hysteria she went through, Gabrielle knew was not good for the baby. Michonne listened to what had happened, called Daryl some very creative names before she helped Gabrielle take the first step in fixing this, which was finding Daryl and bringing him home.
That is what they used Rick for. He came through as always and once Daryl was found and settled into the motel room to sleep off his drunkenness, Rick let his wife know what was going on. She subsequently called Gabrielle and let her know that Rick had found Daryl belligerently drunk and had taken him to a motel to sleep it off. At least she knew he was safe.
What she didn't know what man was going to be walking in that door – a happy one or one that was about to pack his bags. She prayed for the first one, but when she heard the front door open, her nerves got to her and she dropped the glass she was holding. It shattered it into a million tiny sharp fragments on the floor.
"Gabrielle!" Daryl shouted and dropped everything as he raced to the kitchen. "Are you alright? What happened?"
"I broke a glass," she told him with tears streaming down her face. Silently she cursed the hormones that were raging through her causing her to cry at the slightest thing. She was trying to blame her non-stop crying on anything but Daryl.
"Are you wearing shoes?" he asked.
Gabrielle shook her head no. Daryl instantly strode over to her as stepping on the broken glass. His thick soled boots saved him from the sharp shards as he scooped her up into his arms. The glass crunched under his feet as he moved her out of the kitchen. He didn't want to bring the glass shards onto the carpet so he put her down gently once he reached the living room.
"I'll go clean up the kitchen and you stay here. Then we'll talk, okay?" Daryl watched her nod, yes, but he saw fear in her eyes and he hated that he was the cause. "I'm sorry, Princess. I'm an ass," he told her before giving her a gentle kiss.
Quickly, yet thoroughly Daryl cleaned up the broken glass. All the while he worked he remembered the sadness, the fear and the uncertainness he saw on Gabrielle's face. It was entirely his fault. He was the one causing her this pain. He loved her more than life itself, but he was afraid too. How would a baby change them? He had finally gotten used to living with her all the time. He had been a loner for so long and to have someone not just in his life, but around him all the time was hard at first. He had gotten used to it and now loved it, but it had been a hard transition.
He loved Gabrielle and did enjoy her around all the time. She made his life happier and fun, but at the same time, he never had a minute to himself. Even his rides on his bike included her. The one time he asked if he could go alone, she looked so forlorn that he told her was teasing her and of course she was coming. Now there was another person coming into their lives that he was going to be responsible for. Could he do it?
Daryl put away the broom in the closet and went to the back door to take off his boots. He had already brushed the bottoms clean of glass, but he did not want to track anything through the house. He knew he was stalling, but it was time to talk to Gabrielle.
Barefoot, he padded into the living room and dropped down on the sofa across from her. They both had so much to say to each other, yet neither said a single word. Finally, Gabrielle spoke, "Daryl, I want you to know that I didn't plan this. It was as much of a surprise to me as it was to you. I'm sorry."
"Princess, don't be sorry for something that wasn't your fault. I'm sorry that I accused you of getting pregnant on purpose. That's not you and it was me being a stupid prick to have said that. I just…never wanted kids and this…was a shock…a big one and I reacted badly. Really fucking badly," he admitted.
Daryl looked Gabrielle right in the eyes so she would know that his apology was sincere. She looked tired, her face was pale and her eyes were red…all because of him. But even with all that going on, she was still the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He couldn't lose her because of his insecurities.
"I know we never talked about kids, but why don't you want them?" she asked in a soft voice so unlike herself.
He hated to admit his shortcomings especially to someone he respected and loved. "Because I knew I'd suck at being a dad. What do I know about what it takes to be a good father? Not a helluva lot and I didn't want I screw up a kid like I was and still am."
He was afraid. Gabrielle could handle that because so was she. Didn't he see he wasn't his father? Not by a long shot. Gabrielle finally smiled, "Daryl, I'm scared too. Every new parent goes into raising a baby with doubts and worries, but you need to realize something. You are not your father. He was an evil hateful man and you are nothing like that. Can you say our marriage is anything like what you remember of your parents?"
He was only eight when his mother died, but he still remembered the fights, the screaming and the hatred his parents had for each other. His marriage to Gabrielle was nothing like that. He enjoyed every minute he spent with her. They laughed a lot, which was something he never used to do and they made love all the time. They fit together perfectly and he hadn't expected that to ever happen either. This woman had changed his life completely and for that, he would be forever grateful.
"No, our marriage ain't nuthin' like my parents. They hated each other and we can't get enough of each other…and I love you. That word was never spoken in our house. Ever."
"So what made you think you would screw up a kid? I know you are smart enough to recognize what not to do with a child. You would never hit a child like you were hit. You would never verbally abuse them like you were. You are not your father Daryl, can't you see that?" Her heart went out to her husband that his childhood abuse was still messing with his head. He was a good man, how could he not realize that?
Gabrielle took his hand in hers. She needed to touch him, to have that physical connection with him.
Daryl had looked down at the floor while she was talking. It embarrassed him that she had the confidence in him that he lacked. How could she be so understanding after how badly he treated her? "Rick kinda said the same thing to me too. That I'm not my old man and that there's no reason I couldn't be a good father." Daryl finally raised his eyes back up to meet Gabrielle's shining blue ones. "Do you think I could do this and be an okay dad?"
She scooted herself closer to Daryl. "I know you can. I have absolutely no doubts that you aren't going to be anything but a great father to our baby, but when I have my doubts about myself and I do, we can both lean on each other. Okay?"
"Okay," he told her with a smile.
"We're good, again?" she asked.
"Yep. We are." Gabrielle laid her head on his shoulder and Daryl wrapped his arms around her. "Holy fuck, Princess…we gonna be parents!"
She could tell by the sound of his voice, he was over his fears. She was afraid too, but Gabrielle knew together they would make a good team. Together they could do anything. "Do you want a boy or a girl?"
Daryl thought for a moment. A boy like him or a stunning little girl like her momma. He wasn't sure he could handle having a beautiful girl that would eventually date and he'd probably end up in jail for threatening the boys that followed her home. "Don't much care, but if it is a girl, she ain't ever gonna date. No fuckin' way, Princess."
"Why not?"
"Cause I know those boys are after one thing and they ain't gonna touching my little girl…like this…" Daryl cupped one of Gabrielle's full breasts in his hands and started to knead it.
"Oh no, we can't have that," Gabrielle lightly moaned. "You know Babe, they're gonna get bigger."
"God help me," Daryl sighed as he slipped his hand under her shirt.
"So what else aren't you going to allow the boys to do?" she purred.
"There'd be no removing of clothing…like this." Daryl pulled her shirt up over her head and tossed it aside. "Or especially like this." This time he unsnapped her bra in the back. His right hand pushed the straps off one shoulder than the other and the bra was soon lying somewhere on the floor.
Daryl looked at Gabrielle and they both saw the desire and heat in each other's eyes. While they just looked at each other, Daryl's fingers continued to massage her breast before stopping as he took her distended nipple between his fingers. A gentle tug, became a firmer tweaking as he pulled and rubbed it between his rough fingers. Pleasure bordered on pain.
"Oh…yes," Gabrielle sighed. "Harder and...don't stop.
Daryl could play with his wife's breast for hours and had done so often in the past. He knew what she loved and how hard he could be. She always did like things a little bit rough.
"What else?" she panted. "What else can't they do?"
"This," he growled. "Do you want them to ever do this to our daughter?"
Daryl lowered his mouth to her breast and after licking around her areola he sucked her nipple into his mouth. His tongue, teeth, and lips taunted and teased her while his hand continued to caress her.
"No…No…those horny monsters will never touch her, but you…oh God Daryl you are making me so fucking wet!"
He didn't answer her but just stayed with his mouth latched onto her luscious breast. The thought of them getting even bigger made his already hard dick throb even more. How he had managed to live all these years without her was crazy. He never knew sex could be this good…this satisfying with someone he cared about. That he waited to find it with Gabrielle made their relationship even that much stronger. He could not imagine a life without her and he had almost screwed that up.
His jeans were getting too uncomfortable with the intense hard on he had, not to mention they were tight to begin with since they were Rick's. His mouth moved from her breast to her lips and he greedily took possession of her mouth. Their tongues fought for control as the kiss deepened even more. Gabrielle arched as his hand roughly massaged her breast and his mouth left her lips leaving a trail of hot kisses in its wake.
"Upstairs," he mumbled. He was so hot for her that he could take her right there on the sofa as he had done many times before, but this time he wanted the comfort of their bed.
Gabrielle didn't answer but reluctantly pulled herself out of his embrace to stand up. Daryl instantly joined her, but let his mouth and hands run all over her generous breasts one more time. Then he took her hand in his and led her towards the stairs. Halfway up, he stopped in his tracks. "We can still have sex, right? It won't hurt the baby?"
"Oh, we definitely can." Gabrielle leaned closer to him and whispered in his ear, "Fuck me, Daryl."
He loved it when she talked like that and he had them running up the rest of the stairs for their room. Daryl was taking his clothes off as fast as he could and Gabrielle was already naked since she was already half undressed. She crawled up on the bed and spread her legs for him as he wrestled to get his pants off. Daryl's eyes didn't leave her body for one second as he watched her slowly slide her hand down her body to her shaved mound. There her fingers played with herself, while she waited for Daryl to join her.
Gabrielle was fully aware of how he would react to her doing this…he loved it and typically it would lead to a crazed bout of hard sex, which was what she needed right then.
Daryl stood there completely naked with his hard cock standing straight up watching his wife. Here he was thinking he may have to take her slower than he wanted to be gentle with her and she was telling him the opposite. He was so hard that he knew he wouldn't last long, but if she wanted it hard and rough, then that's what she would get. Thank-fucking-God!
He crawled up on the bed, replacing her fingers with his. He watched Gabrielle close her eyes and sigh loudly as he let two fingers enter her. She was so slick that he knew she was ready for him. He used his thumb to rub her sensitive clit, which immediately had her moaning loudly.
Without stopping he positioned himself between her legs so without any warning he thrust himself deep inside of her. Gabrielle screamed in pleasure. Daryl continued to bury himself completely inside of her stroke after stroke.
When his gaze traveled back up her body, going over her bouncing breasts, he couldn't imagine wanting a woman more. Her gaze finally locked on his and she wrapped her legs around him.
Her eyes became narrow slits as the sensations that were starting to flow through her started to control her body. "Oh God," she simpered. "That already feels so fucking good."
"Just wait," he growled.
"No waiting. Please!" she begged him. No man had ever made her feel the way Daryl did. Every time with him was still incredible and she could never get enough of him.
He lifted her legs up so they were draped across his shoulders, giving him better access and leverage. His hips were moving him frantically in and out of her and the orgasm that he knew had been close before he even started began to take over.
Gabrielle felt two more wild thrusts before he spilled himself into her, that's when she let go of the thin hold she had on herself and they tumbled together into a strong tidal wave of passion. Their bodies trembling together as the electricity they could easily ignite hit every nerve ending they had. They collapsed together sweaty and exhausted, but completely sated.
Daryl lay on top of Gabrielle trying to catch his breath as she did the same. Once he slid out of her, he rolled off to the side and she cuddled up next to him. "I'm sorry I almost screwed us up," he said softly in his gruff voice. He planted a loving kiss on her forehead.
"We fixed it, with a little help, but promise me you won't run again. We need to face up to our problems and talk them out. Okay?"
"I'll do my best Princess, but you know I'm not good at talkin' so you gotta tell me when I'm fuckin' up."
Gabrielle laughed. "Don't worry, I have that covered no problem."
The two of them lay together intertwined as they talked about their future. Daryl was going to try to see if he could get off to go to her doctor's appointment with her. They discussed that as much as they loved their little house, it was not ideal for a family. They needed a room for the baby.
Gabrielle was surprised that when she suggested they buy this time and use the money in the bank she had from the sale of her condo that Daryl agreed. They were making plans to be a real family, something Daryl never thought he would have. The idea both scared him to death and excited him. He was ready. It took some doses of reality from both Rick and Gabrielle, but he finally saw the light.
As these new realizations flowed through him, he became aware that Gabrielle had fallen asleep in his arms. He had caused her so much stress and anguish last night that he doubted she had gotten any sleep at all. It was time to pamper his Princess as she was carrying his baby. There would be another Dixon in the world and this one was not going to be like any of the others. This child would be raised by loving parents and he would do his best to make sure they fulfilled any of their dreams. His had come true after all. He took a chance on love and maybe he and Gabrielle went around it the craziest way possible, but it worked. He was going to have the family he secretly always wanted, but never dared to have.
Thank God what happened in Vegas, did not stay in Vegas. He took the biggest chance of his lifetime and came out a winner. Who would have ever thought that a Dixon would come out on top? Daryl fell asleep next to his gorgeous pregnant wife happier than he ever thought possible. Life wasn't just good, it was fucking awesome!
Epilogue
Five years later…
Daryl pulled into the driveway of his four-bedroom home and parked his pickup. The Ford dealership he had worked at for years had given him a great deal on a used F-150 so it had room for the kids. He was now the lead mechanic there and there were rumors that when the service manager retired at end of the year, he was up for the job. Hard work and dedication had done him well.
He still rode his bike occasionally, but it was no longer his sole mode of transportation. Car seats don't actually fit on a motorcycle. He tried, much to Gabrielle's dismay with Tyler.
He walked quietly up the front steps and listened. He could hear his four-year-old son, Tyler chasing his two-year-old sister Madison throughout the house. As usual, the home was filled with lots of laughter.
"Okay, guys. Daddy's going to be home any minute and I asked you to pick up the toys, let's do it before he gets home," Gabrielle told her two children that were still running through the house laughing.
"Too late," Daryl said walking through the door. "He's here."
The two little rugrats screamed when they heard him and ran into the living room throwing themselves at him. He picked up one kid in each arm. "Were you guys good for your mommy today?" he asked giving them each a kiss.
"Yes Daddy," Tyler answered him seriously. "We picked up our toys."
"Now did you?" he laughed as the room was covered in toys of all kinds. "Maybe you should try again, Tyler. Show your sister how to do it, okay?"
Tyler shook his head yes.
"Will you help Ty, Maddie?"
His adorable daughter who was the spitting image of her mother, nodded that she understood. Daryl placed them both on the floor and told them to "get to it." Immediately they starting picking up discarded toys and putting them in the big toy box he had built for them.
"I've been trying to get them to do that all day," Gabrielle said as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Why do they listen to you, but not me?"
"No idea Princess, but let's take advantage that they do listen to me…occasionally." He kissed his still gorgeous wife's lips and lingered. Her mouth easily opened in response to his and for a moment, they forgot they were not alone. That was until Maddie said, "Mommy, gotta pee."
"Damn it, "Gabrielle muttered under her breath causing Daryl to smile. "Gotta love potty training. C'mon baby girl, let's go pee."
Daryl went to the refrigerator and pulled out a beer. He sat down on the sofa watching his young son play with a toy motorcycle. Soon he'd get him out on his bike, he'd just have to do it when Gabrielle wasn't around otherwise she'd pitch a fit. Boys had to stick together.
He took a long pull from the bottle. He never imagined he would be living the life he was. He had a wife that loved him and still caused heads to turn after a couple of kids. He had two beautiful children that he couldn't imagine ever not having. He lived for those kids, which was a completely different feeling than he had initially. He never thought he would be a good father after being raised by one of the worst ones, but he was wrong. He was a damned good dad, even though he still was never going to let his little Maddie date. No way.
He drove a decent truck and they actually owned the house they lived in. Well in about twenty-five years they would own it once the mortgage was paid off. This was not the life he ever expected to have but thank God he did. He was one lucky man.
The End.
A/N - Thank you to everyone who has been reading not just Taking a Chance, but any of my stories. I have enjoyed writing them so very much. I will continue to write, but I just don't have another story ready yet. I am working on a sequel to Restless, tentatively titled Blindsided, but that is not done yet. First time in almost a year, I didn't have another one ready to go. If you haven't heard, I don't post a story until it's completely written. Just one of my idiosyncrasies. Keep an eye out for it or even better follow me and you'll know when it's started. Honestly, it may be a month or two before it's done.
Thank you all for being a fan. See you soon.
Walker Witch