"Look! She's doing it again!" exclaimed Louis with a chuckle, looking back to his wife. On the floor of their room, Hope was slowly crawling from Clementine to Louis. She stopped every few seconds to regain her balance, giggling when she reached her father.

Over the last six months, Hope had been growing strong. Her curls now covered her ears, and her freckles were increasing in number. Her teeth were starting to grow now, causing her to wake Clem or Louis in the middle of the night. It was hard to believe she'd been with them for eleven months already.

"That's my little princess!" he said, lifting her off the ground and spinning in place. "Daddy's so proud of you."

He nuzzled Hope's nose with his own, kissing her cheek. Clem stood up and approached father and daughter, a smile on her face. She stood on tiptoes to kiss Hope's forehead.

"We're so proud of you, sweet pea," she whispered.

"You sticking with sweet pea?" Louis asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Got a problem with that, Prince Charming?" she teased with a smirk.

Louis tipped her hat upwards and shrugged. "I think it's cute," he said.

"You're cute."

Blushing, Louis handed Hope back to her mother. An autumn breeze blew through the window, making Clem shiver. Smiling down on her, Louis shrugged off his trench coat and draped it over her shoulders. Hope's tiny hands reached for the flaps on Louis's coat, rubbing her cheek against the fur lining.

Louis looked down at his daughter, a smile etched on her face. She liked doing that from time to time, mostly when they let her lay down on their bed with them. Her small body rested on Clem's chest, humming softly. Louis leaned in and placed a soft kiss on her cheek, smiling when the corners of her lips curled upwards.

Before he had a chance to stand up straight, Hope's tiny hand shot up and took hold of one of his dreads, pulling down hard. Trapped, he looked up at his wife for help, but she just shrugged.

"Daddy's gotta get out of it himself," she told him, shooting him a fleeting wink.

He rolled his eyes and worked on his daughter's fingers, whose clutch on his hair was tight. He cursed under his breath as she pulled once more. Just as he was free of her grasp, Hope mumbled something unintelligible.

"What's that, sweetie?" Louis whispered, raising an eyebrow.

Hope's eyes found her father, the afternoon sun bringing out the golden hue of her irises. "Dada," she breathed, followed by a high pitched giggle.

Louis and Clem looked at each other wide-eyed, their jaws dropping. Tears in his eyes, Louis looked down at Hope. "What did you just say?" he asked gently, cocking his head to the side. Was he going crazy?

She took a moment to stare at him, pursing her tiny lips. Deciding it was worth another go, she opened her mouth and uttered, "dada," one more time.

"Oh my god!" he exclaimed, stepping back and jumping up and down. "You've never done that before, you beautiful Sunshine."

Louis took Hope from Clementine, pressing her to his body for a tight embrace. Lifting up the baby's shirt, he blew a raspberry on her belly, making her giggle uncontrollably. Clem looked on with fond eyes, crossing her arms as she reveled in her husband's joy.

"You said dada, she said dada," he kept saying, almost in disbelief. "That was your first word, oh my god."

"Yes, we're all very excited," Clem said, gesturing to Hope, who was staring at her father with a blank expression as he bounced her gently up and down.

"You're just jealous she said dada first," he teased, a smug smirk on his face.

"Sure I am," said Clem, unable to wipe the smile off her own face. "At least now you know she doesn't hate you," she added, rolling her eyes.

"Well, she wasn't laughing at my jokes," he argued. "I thought maybe she had a problem with me."

"She's a baby, Louis," she assured him. "I don't think she really cares that much about why the chicken crossed the road."

"I'm starting to think you don't either."

Before she could refute his theory, a knock came from the door. Clem walked toward it and clicked it open, revealing Tenn on the other side. He was wearing a leather jacket over his favorite band t-shirt. His jeans were ripped at the knee, and his new boots were already duct taped at the tip.

Clem let him in and he looked over at Louis, who was holding Hope in his arms. Tenn grinned at the baby, who smiled back. Waving a hand at her, he turned to Clem.

"I wanted to tell you guys that Willy and I made a little surprise for Hope and you," he said. "You'll have to follow me out into the courtyard, though."

"Today's a great day for surprises," Louis claimed, huffing out his chest proudly. "Hope just said her first word."

"She did?" Tenn asked excitedly, making a face at the baby and miraculously getting a giggle out of her.

"Yeah, she said 'dada.'"

Tenn looked at Louis suspiciously, then back at Clem. Chuckling, she crossed her arms and nodded.

"He's telling the truth."

"Why would I lie about this?" Louis said, rolling his eyes. He adjusted Hope on his waist, switching sides as his right arm got sore.

"Dunno," Tenn said, shrugging. "You guys coming?"

"Sure, lead the way," Clem said, following Tenn out of the room.

The parents walked alongside Tenn through the halls, the late afternoon sun shining through the open windows. Louis looked out of one of them and spotted Willy chatting with Omar by the cooking station, probably pestering him about dinner again. As Tenn led them through the dormitory doors, he whistled in the cook's direction, and Willy turned to them.

He made his way to the couple and Tenn, a smile on her face. "You guys are gonna love this," he said, leading the way through the half-empty courtyard. Clem and Louis shared a look, hoping to god this didn't include an explosion of any kind. As they got to the other side, Willy pulled on a rope that was attached to a high branch on one of the trees.

A wooden contraption fell down with it, swinging gently in the breeze, two ropes holding it up in midair. It had a wood backseat, attached to three thin ropes that held it all together. Clem looked at Willy for an explanation and he cleared his throat.

"Tenn and I were thinking that we never really had a swing as children," he explained. "What with walkers and all that. Now that we're a little more adapted to them, we figured Hope would want a swing of her own. And don't worry, we made it extra safe for her," he added hurriedly, seeing Clem's expression.

Clementine inspected the craftsmanship, smiling when she noticed a small inscription on the back of the swing's seat. It was Tenn's handwriting, she realized.

Here comes the sun.

She turned to Louis and pointed it out, making him smile. When asked about it, Tenn nodded and said, "I've heard you sing that to Hope from time to time."

"More like all the time," corrected Willy.

"It's great, guys," Louis said. "Thank you."

"Don't worry about it," Tenn said. "You can use it now if you want, dinner won't be ready for another half hour or so."

"Aw, man," Willy exclaimed as the two boys walked off, leaving the couple alone with their baby.

Louis rounded the swing, inspecting it closely for weak spots. When he was satisfied with his findings, he carefully helped Hope onto it. Her legs swung wildly in excitement, hazel eyes scanning everything around her. She clutched the ropes on either side tightly, pulling at them.

"Ready, sweet pea?" asked Clem, standing behind her. She took her squeal as a positive answer and began pushing, taking it slow first.

Hope giggled as she rose into the air, her curls flying in every which direction. Louis stood to the side with crossed arms, laughing along with his daughter as Hope swung back and forth. Clementine risked a higher push, making the baby squeal in joy. After hearing the ropes creak against the tree branch, she decreased the strength with which she pushed.

Louis leaned against the tree with a smile. "I wish we still had that camera," he commented. Framing Clem and Hope between his fingers, he made a clicking sound with his tongue.

"I don't think the flash went off," Clem said, looking sideways at him.

"Aren't you a clever one?"

"Always," said Clem, shrugging. She pushed Hope forward once more, smiling when her daughter giggled. The baby let go of the ropes, swinging his arms wildly.

"I remember the last time I was on a swing," Clem said. "It was a couple months into this whole thing and some brothers ran into out Motor Inn, and invited us to their dairy. They offered us food, but I forget what they wanted in return."

"Sound friendly enough," Louis said, nodding.

"No, they weren't," Clem corrected, shaking her head. "They turned out to be cannibals who tried to feed one of our friends to us. I almost had some, but Lee stopped me before I could."

"Oh my god," Louis exclaimed. His eyes widened at her words. Eating human flesh? He couldn't even stomach the thought.

"Yeah, pretty brutal," she said, frowning at the memory. "But before we found out about that, one of the brothers fixed up a swing they had at their house. I asked Lee to push me, and he did. It's one of my best memories of him. One… one of the only ones."

Louis looked at his wife, whose face turned from a smile into a grimace. He stepped forward and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. She looked back at him, small tears threatening to break surface with her eyes. Without thinking, he extended his arms and embraced her, kissing the top of her head. Hope was still swinging gently, trying to turn around in her seat to look at her parents.

Louis cupped her face in on hand. "I think Lee would be so proud of you now," he told her, wiping away a tear with his thumb softly. "Now it's time to make some new memories. Ones that you can laugh and smile about when we're older."

Sniffing softly, Clem nodded and looked up at her husband, a smile etched on her face. "How do you always know what to say?"

"I don't," he assured her. "I think of what would be most likely to make you smile, and then I say that."

She stood on tiptoes, kissing the tip of his nose. "You're a dork, you know that?"

"A dork you married, though."

The sound of their daughter crying drew both their attention, making them chuckle when they saw her hands clutching at the air in search of Clem. The woman obliged, bouncing Hope at the waist. As Omar called them for dinner, Louis draped an arm over Clementine's shoulders, pressing her against him. His little Ninja Family.

It was finally the day of Hope's first birthday. Louis couldn't believe it had been one whole year, marveling at how fast time flew. As he got up from the bed, he looked to the bassinet beside their bed. Much like Clem, Hope was already gone. From what he'd heard in his slumber, Hope was extremely excited to get her birthday celebration started at six in the morning.

He checked his watch, groaning when it was barely nine. Swinging his legs out of bed, he rubbed the sleep off of his eyes. AJ's bed had been unoccupied for a few months since he'd decided to give the new parents some space and move back in with Tenn.

Through the window, the early morning sun shone brightly onto the floorboards. He stood up and made his way to the courtyard, where Clem was sitting on one of the benches. Hope was slowly lifting herself off the ground, keeping her balance with the edge of Clementine's seat. She took two shy steps, her legs wobbly from the effort of keeping her weight up.

Aasim was standing at the watchtower, surveying the surroundings of the school. When Louis passed him, he offered the freckled man a wave, which Louis returned. He approached his wife with a groggy smile.

"Look who's up and about," Clem said, pretending to clap for him.

"Thank you, thank you," he teased, bowing deeply.

"I was going for sarcasm," she replied, crossing her arms. "Hope wants to see her father on her birthday."

Louis bent down and lifted Hope off the ground by way of response, kissing her cheeks relentlessly.

"Happy birthday, Sunshine," he said, his eyes brimming with joy.

"Dada!" she exclaimed, wrapping her small hands in his dreads.

"That's right, honey. You wanna go on the swing while we wait for the others?"

They spent about an hour there while the rest trickled in from a night of slumber. The last one to rise was Violet, rubbing her eyes as she exited the dorms. By then, everyone was sitting at the courtyard tables, Hope and her parents taking the middle spots. Clem held her daughter on her lap, her slender arms wrapped around her waist.

Omar had prepared a special soup for them, adding extra vegetables he and Ruby had been growing in the greenhouse. The group talked about nothing and everything at the same time, and Louis and Clem shared stories about their recent visit to Richmond.

Javi had been over the moon when he saw little Hope take her first steps accompanied by Louis. He claimed he'd have to recruit her for his baseball team back in Richmond soon enough, if only as a reserve. Despite his initial hesitance, Gabe had warmed up to Hope pretty quickly, and she'd enjoyed pulling at his hair constantly.

At some point, Willy brought out some glasses and they poured themselves some wine they'd been storing away for a special occasion. Before starting to drink, Violet clinked her spoon on her glass and stood up. Everyone looked at her and she cleared her throat.

"I'd like to make a toast," she announced, looking down at Minnie. Her girlfriend offered her a reassuring wink.

"Oh, we don't get those often," Louis teased. He got a slap on the shoulder from both Minnie and Clem.

"I wanted to congratulate you guys," she began, ignoring Louis and raising her glass. The rest followed her lead. "We've had some bad experiences here; lost people. But I think Hope has been living up to her name."

"She's given you, and all of us, hope that the world isn't so shitty after all. I never thought I'd be seeing the day Louis had a loving wife and a daughter, but yet here we are."

"Hey!" exclaimed Louis, smirking up at Violet. "I happen to be a charming man."

"He really is," Clem said, kissing his cheek.

Violet made a gagging sound, which sent everyone into laughter. After they'd calmed down, she continued. "Well, I've run out of words to say," she said simply, shrugging. "So, to Hope!"

"To Hope!" everyone chanted, taking a sip of their respective glasses.

Louis downed his glass in one go and planted a soft kiss on Clem's cheek, making her blush. She separated herself from him slightly. "Louis, stop," she giggled. "Last time that happened, this happened." She gestured to Hope, who looked up at her parents in confusion. The adults laughed, though AJ had a similar expression to Hope.

After Omar and Aasim cleaned up all the bowls, Ruby rushed to the admin building and came out with a small muffin-shaped treat. It had a candle sticking out the top, and a little letter H drawn on.

"Ain't a cake, but it's as good as," Ruby said, setting in on the table in front of Clem and Hope.

"Thanks, Ruby," said Clem, smiling up at the redhead.

Louis took out his matchbox from his coat and lit the candle, using his hand to shield the flame from the soft autumn breeze. Once it was lit, the group began singing 'Happy Birthday', startling Hope. As they sang, she scanned their faces, all alight with joy. She must have picked up on their joyous attitude, for she started smiling and clapping her hands together. When it was time for her to blow out the candle, she got a little help from her mother and stared absently at the thin column of smoke that erupted from the tip of the candle.

The sun was starting to decline by now, decreasing in warmth as the group scattered to their daily activities. Aasim and Ruby walked toward the admin building hand in hand, discussing future hunting plans for the week. Tenn, Willy, and AJ began playing a version of tag, in which one of them pretended to be a walker and could only move at walking speed. Needless to say, it got boring after a while.

Violet approached the parents, a smile on her face.

"Nice speech there, Vi," Louis said, clapping her on the shoulder. "Nearly had me in tears."

"Shut up," she said, rolling her eyes.

"No, I mean it," he assured her. "Thank you, for everything you said."

"Well, you're welcome," Vi replied. "I actually wanted to talk to your wife about something."

"Something secret for my birthday, I presume?" Louis teased, raising an eyebrow.

"More like a plan to murder you in your sleep."

"Jeez, that took a turn," Louis said, frowning. "I guess I'll take Hope while you ladies have a chat."

He reached for Hope, whose hands grabbed at his coat immediately. The two women said their goodbyes to Louis and the baby and walked toward the dorms, chatting absently. Louis looked around the courtyard and his eyes landed on the swing once more.

"You up for some more playtime before naptime, Sunshine?" he asked his daughter, who stared at him blankly. "Well, we're doing it anyway," he quipped, walking toward the swing.

When he got there, he placed little Hope on the wooden seat, strapping her down tight. Kissing her cheek one more time, he began pushing slowly, testing the waters. She deemed the activity worthy and began mumbling something unintelligible. He took it to mean she was enjoying it and kept going.

As he pushed her, he thought of Clementine. Six years down the line, and he still couldn't believe he'd ended up with the most beautiful woman in the apocalypse. Hell, most beautiful in the world, he thought to himself. Hope's voice broke through his thoughts, making a smile form on his face.

"Up!" she babbled, her hands reaching for the sky as he pushed her once more.

"That's a new word, Sunshine!" he exclaimed, stopping her motion mid-swing and leaning down to her level. "Can you say mommy now?"

"Up!" she repeated, grinning at her father.

"I guess we'll take a rain check on mommy, huh."

"Up! Up! Up!" Hope babbled, tilting her tiny head back to look at Louis, her amber eyes twinkling with excitement, lips curled up to reveal a gummy smile.

Louis beamed with happiness. "Anything for you, my little Sunshine," he replied, tapping her small nose and pulling the ropes on the swing back as far as they could go. Hope giggled and kicked her legs, the anticipation ramping up. She looked so small, sitting on that long, worn wooden board and wrapped in the straps that held her in place.

"Hold on tight; don't want you getting lost in the clouds!"

Hope's fingers barely managed to wrap around the ropes, but she still gripped them tightly with all her might. "Aaaand, off you go!" Louis shouted with glee as he let go of the swing.

Hope squealed as she soared into the air, the crystal blue sky encompassing her vision. She could almost touch those white, fluffy clouds with the tips of her shoes. She almost felt like she was flying, like she could stay up there forever. Years could pass, winter could turn to spring, and Hope would still be there, playing on that swing.

Her once chirpy giggles turned into sharp laughter as she came back down to earth. Her eyes watered from the rush of the wind, and her light brown curls - no longer short tufts of hair - settled and draped across her face. She tossed her head back, sunlight shining through the tree branches, dancing across her freckled cheeks. Hope smiled, gaps in her new baby teeth showing. Louis thought it was good they'd never had to explain the Tooth Fairy to her.

"Again, dad, again!" she cried. Through the years, they'd had to remove the backboard on the swing as Hope managed to get a steadier grip on the ropes. The inscription Tenn had made for it still hung on the trunk of the tree for all the school to see.

Louis laughed. "I'll never get tired of pushing you on this thing, but let your old man rest for a bit, alright?"

"Aw," pouted Hope, looking up at her dad with puppy eyes. The same eyes that had looked at him the day of his wedding. "You're not old, dad. You're like 26."

"28, actually," he corrected, pretending to rub his back dramatically. "Tell you what, let's go sit by the benches and I'll push you after I've recovered, okay?"

"Okie!" she quipped, taking Louis's hand and practically skipping toward the bench on the side of the dorms. Sitting down, she waited for her father, who was taking an obnoxiously long time. "Daad," she complained, rolling her eyes.

"You know, your mom rolls her eyes at me that same way," he said as he got there, sitting beside her.

"That's because we have the same eyes," she reasoned, shrugging.

Louis looked down at his daughter, a look of pure pride in his eyes. Her curly brown hair was tied in a ponytail much like her mother's, the sun brought out the hazel in her eyes, and her flustered cheeks were filled with freckles. She wore a beautiful yellow dress they'd found in an abandoned mall a few years ago that she had just barely grown into a few months after that. It was one of her favorite pieces of clothing, second only to her father's trench coat, which usually covered her entire body and then some.

"I see you went with the dress for today," he pointed out, gesturing to it.

"Yep," she said with big smile. "It was too hot for jeans."

"Amen to that, princess."

They sat there for a while, silently watching the rest going about their business. Violet stood at the watchtower, Aasim and Ruby made plans on one of the courtyard tables, and Clem was helping AJ practice his archery. After mastering the regular wooden bow, she had promised to show him how to manage Marlon's old compound bow. So far, he was doing quite well for himself.

Hope leaned against her father, resting her head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her, pulling her closer. He sighed contently, planting a soft kiss on the top of her head. A late summer sun shone over them, making Louis squint and cover his eyes.

"Daddy?" Hope asked, looking up.

"Yes, Sunshine?" He thought about the irony of calling her that in his current situation.

"Would you sing me that song you used to sing to me when I was little? To pass the time?"

"You're gonna have to be a little more specific, sweetheart," he chuckled. "I've sung many songs in my day."

Rolling her eyes again, Hope said, "The one you got my nickname from, I mean."

"Ah, there we go," he said, remembering the first time he'd sung that for Clementine. It had been one night after she'd fallen ill and thought she was dying. Overly dramatic as usual, he thought, though he wasn't much better.

He cleared his throat, and Hope nuzzled deeper into his embrace, humming contently.

"Here comes the sun,"

"Doo doo doo doo," Hope sang along, making her father laugh.

"Here comes the sun, and I say

It's all right."

All the sleepless nights they'd spent in Hope's early childhood flashed in front of his eyes. He didn't think there was anything out of that experience that he wouldn't do again for little Hope. Looking down, he continued.

"Little darling, it's been a long, cold, lonely winter.

Little darling, it feels like years since it's been here.

Here comes the sun.

Here comes the sun, and I say

It's all right."

The moment Hope was born, all the doubts that had plagued his mind growing up, settling in like a disease in him, had immediately vanished. She was his sunshine in a cloudy night, bringing happiness into his and Clem's life. More than we already had, anyway.

"Little darling, the smile's returning to the faces.

Little darling, it seems like years since it's been here."

He looked down at his daughter one more time, basking in the rush of pride that flowed through his veins every time he laid eyes on her. She was his everything, and he was happy to say he was proud of the life he and Clementine had built for themselves. Little Hope was worth everything, and more.

"Here comes the sun.

Here comes the sun, and I say."

They sang the last line in unison, having practiced the song countless times before. Hope's high voice contrasted with his low one, creating a beautiful melody to wrap it all together.

"It's all right."