Chapter 28

Daryl Dixon walked through the fields where stalks of corn were up to his chest. Carl Grimes was running through one of the rows chasing after his baby sister, who had found that running through the corn stalks was her new favorite activity, aside from begging Michonne to play dollies with her. "Pletty peese" was Judith's new favorite thing to say, because every time she said it to any one of her extended family, they just couldn't resist her adorableness. And Michonne especially couldn't resist her when she added a 'pletty peese, mama' to her begging. That child knew exactly how to steal and melt her heart at the same time.

"Judy, get back here, you little monster," Carl laughed, as the toddler shrieked and ran faster, smacking right into Daryl's leg.

"Uh-oh!" Judith exclaimed, falling back on her bottom.

"Hey Asskicker," he laughed, picking the girl up and putting her up on his shoulders. She clapped her hands and laughed happily.

"Athkicker," she giggled.

"Daryl," Carl groaned. "Dad told you to stop calling her that. You should've heard her repeating something you said last week at the dinner table last night. I thought Michonne was gonna hyperventilate, she was laughing so hard."

"Your dad didn't laugh?"

"Not so much," Carl replied

"Shit," Daryl muttered.

"Thit!" Judith exclaimed gleefully. Carl rolled his eyes, and Daryl shrugged.

"Well, it ain't like I'm the only person she's heard say it," he muttered. "Here, take the kid." Daryl lifted Judith off of his shoulders and handed her back down to her brother. "You seen Carol?"

"Uh, yeah, she was taking stock of supplies with Michonne last I saw."

"She's on her feet again?" Daryl asked. That woman just wouldn't quit. She was due any second, and she was still working. He tried to get her to prop her feet up for at least a couple hours every day, but she insisted she felt fine. She was stubborn as ever, and given his own stubbornness, he was wondering if their own kid would be ten times as bad and might never decide to be born. Carol figured she was at least a week over due, and everybody was kind of waiting on pins and needles. Every little ache or pain she had started a cacophony of gasps and chairs scraping over floorboards as everybody scrambled to help her.

Daryl took off toward the store room, which was basically just the back room of the clinic they'd taken Carol to that first night. Bob was sweeping off the front porch, having just stocked the latest supply run's haul of medicines. He'd been studying medical texts that the last group had left, and that was basically all that he could do to prepare himself. The last four months had yet to see any newcomers, but they still kept someone on watch every day, making sure to look for other survivors, whether they be threats or people in need of refuge.

"Carol in there?" Daryl asked.

"Yeah. She's with Michonne. Oh, hey! One of the calves dropped this morning. I helped deliver it."

"Yeah? It live?"

"Yeah. It's out in the east field."

"Great," Daryl said, eyeing the medic.

"I'm just saying, I feel a little more comfortable with helping with the delivery now." Daryl narrowed his eyes.

"You comparing Carol to one of our cows?"

"What?" Bob asked, his face paling. "No! No, I was just…" He gripped the broom handle tightly, his knuckles turning white. "I'm not…" Daryl smirked and patted Bob's shoulder.

"Relax, man. It's cool. I appreciate ya doin' what ya can to help her. I know she's gettin' nervous."

"It'll be alright. Carol's healthy. Everything's going to be fine." Daryl nodded, trying to remain positive. Lori had been healthy, too, and she hadn't survived. And Carol was late, which meant that the baby was getting bigger each day. The more he thought about it, the more that nervous panic seeped out of his pores in a cold sweat.

Daryl turned quickly and walked into the clinic, finding Carol standing just inside the door, one hand on her back, the other gripping a bottle of water so tightly that the water spouted out like a fountain just as Daryl walked through. Her eyes met his, and the bottle clattered to the floor, the plastic crackling as it rolled.

"Carol?"

"Oh God," she groaned, leaning forward. Michonne came walking out of the back room, her eyes wide.

"What happened?" She looked at the floor. "Did…"

"No, my water didn't break," Carol assured her. "I'm just having a contraction." Daryl helped Carol down into a chair, and he put his hands on her stomach, now quite prominent, and he saw the pain etched in her face as she squeezed her eyes shut tightly.

"Bob! Get in here!" Daryl hollered. Bob came rushing in.

"What happened?"

"Carol's havin' contractions," Daryl said with a grunt. "Help me get her over to the bed." Carol put an arm around each guy's necks, and they helped her get over to the bed.

"I don't remember it hurting this bad," Carol groaned, clutching her belly. Fear and worry filled Daryl's face, and Michonne patted his shoulder.

"Yeah, it really does hurt that bad. She's ok, Daryl," Michonne offered.

"Shit," Carol groaned, another contraction hitting her fast. "It didn't happen like this with Sophia." Tears filled her eyes. "It's too fast."

"Just breathe, Carol. Take a deep breath. It's gonna be ok," Bob assured her. "You're gonna have to help me out here, ok? I've never done this before. You have. You've got this, Carol, alright? I'm just here in case you need me." Carol nodded, biting her lip as she cried out in pain again. She gripped Daryl's hand tightly, and he and Bob shared a tense look before turning their attention back to Carol and her cries of agnoy.

"God, you're amazing," Daryl murmured, stroking Carol's damp hair as he sat in the chair next to her bed at the clinic. "I ain't never seen nothin' like that."

"And, God willing, you never will again," she said with a grin. "I don't think I could ever go through that again." She smiled tiredly at him as he held the tiny bundle in his arms. He stared down in amazement at this tiny creature he and Carol and created together. "Thank you for being here, Daryl."

"You kiddin'? I told ya I wasn't leavin' you. I meant it."

"You helped me so much. When the pain got too bad, I just looked at you, and I knew it was all worth it." Tears trickled down her cheeks, and she laughed a little, brushing them away. "You're going to have to get used to me being a little more weepy than usual for a while."

"Ah, I can take it," he said with a shrug. "We need to find a name for this one, though."

"Yeah, I'm kind of at a loss," Carol laughed. "I thought I'd know as soon as the baby came out, but I'm not sure…I'm not sure if he looks like a Michael or a Robert or a Daryl Jr." Daryl eyed her.

"Should give 'im his own name," Daryl said thoughtfully, staring down at his newborn son. "It's all you. I only had girls names picked out," he chuckled.

"You're not disappointed?"

"You kiddin'?" he asked, kissing the top of the baby's head. "He's awesome." Carol smiled and reached out, stroking the baby's soft, bald head.

"To look at his daddy, you'd think he'd have a lot more hair," she teased.

"Pfft. Stop," he whispered. Carol grinned again. "We could just name him 'Lil Asskicker the Second and be done with it, ya know?"

"Oh yeah," Carol laughed. Asskicker Dixon. That's a pretty macho name."

"Hell yeah," Daryl said with a lopsided grin and a chuckle.

"What about Samuel?" she asked, watching Daryl tilt his head to the side in thought.

"Sam Dixon. It's a good name. Strong." He looked down at the baby. "You like that, Sammy? Huh?" The baby grunted in his sleep, and Carol grinned.

"Yeah, he's his father's son alright," she laughed. "Samuel. Yeah. That's his name." She smiled and leaned forward, kissing the baby's head tenderly. When she looked up, Daryl was staring down at her with such adoration in his eyes. She grinned at him, and she closed her eyes when he pressed his lips against hers.

"Love you so much," he murmured, nuzzling her cheek with his nose.

"Love you too," she whispered, scooting over in the bed and patting the empty place beside her. Daryl carefully moved from the chair to the bed, and Carol curled up against him, falling asleep within minutes. Daryl curled his free arm around her, and he sat there, for the first time holding the woman he loved against him and cradling his child in his other arm, and he knew that everything had happened for a reason. They were the reason. His reason. They were his home.

The End

Author's Note: A big shout out to Rodgerse for the suggestion on the baby name. Well, here we are, at the end, and I'm so thankful for all of you who have taken this journey with me in my first truly big Caryl story. I just love these characters so much, and I can't get enough of writing them and reading about them. I am so thankful to the creators of TWD for giving us such a strong bond between Carol and Daryl on the show. There are so many possibilities, and the dynamic makes them so much fun to write fanfiction about. Thanks again to everyone who hung in there with me and left me such great feedback! I appreciate all of you so much!