Epilogue
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This chapter should have a trigger warning as well. If you'd like to know the reason, message me.
For the last time, here you go!
Ten years later
Life in the armory had maintained its quietness besides the few years that they had two children running around like banshees. Walkers got fewer and fewer. The safe zone in Griffin was good about warding off any troublemakers in the area.
He wouldn't have traded what they had for anything in the world.
The kids grew, and Sawyer proved to be a great big brother. He watched over Lilah like it was his job, and by the time he was ten, he would go hunting with Daryl and help kill food for their camp and to trade with Griffin.
Daryl was so proud of his son. He was kind and even-tempered most of the time. He would give his sister piggyback rides to Griffin when they went to visit, and help his momma can vegetables when Carol wasn't feeling well or she just wanted to chase after Lilah.
Daryl and Beth's little boy had grown up and become a good man.
That was why he was a little shocked to pull him off of a guy in Griffin on one of their day trips to trade things.
"What the fuck, boy?" Daryl growled and pulled him away.
Sawyer was all those good things, but Daryl made sure he knew how to take care of himself. And the man on the ground obviously hadn't had the same training.
"Nothin'." Sawyer spit out and looked down at the kid in the dirt.
He was as tall as Daryl now, shaggy hair, dark blue eyes, little janky ear still. Some days it was hard for Daryl to even comprehend that he had a son that was so similar to him. Beth said it must have been a Dixon thing because, besides hers eyes, Lilah carried a lot of Daryl's features, too.
"Now, that's a fuckin' lie. Ya don't wail on someone that don't know how to make a damned fist without good reason." Daryl held his son's arm and drug him away. "What's goin' on?"
Sawyer toed the dirt, and he flushed with anger. "Said he got with JuJu."
Daryl took a step back.
This was so far out of his league.
He would firmly be in the camp of "Who the fuck cares?" but apparently Sawyer was hurt. Hell, Beth hadn't been a virgin when they hooked up, and it didn't matter to him. They were each other's lasts, and Beth always said that was most important anyway.
And, honestly, he wouldn't deny that either.
He scratched his chin and asked, "Well, did ya talk to Judith, or did ya just beat on him at his word?"
"I know," he spit out, fists scrapped and clenched at his side.
Damn, Daryl remembered carrying around that same righteous anger before. He sighed heavily. "It don't fuckin' matter, Sawyer. She ain't yours. You're just a fuckin' kid."
Those words set off alarm bells in Daryl's head, and he wished he could take them all back at once.
"Just a kid?" Sawyer said, advancing on Daryl. "How old was momma when y'all got together?"
"That ain't none of your concern." He said gruffly and threw his hand in front of him to motion Sawyer to walk on. "Ya should just be happy it happened in the first place. You're standin' here 'cause your momma lost some sense somewhere along the way."
"My momma ain't stuipid," Sawyer said and ended up inches from his father's face.
It took everything to calm himself down. He would never lay a hand on him, but he wasn't about to stand for the disrespect.
"Ya need to back your ass up, son," Daryl said with a firm voice. "I ain't some fuckin' kid that lived in a safe zone all his life. I can take a punch just as well as I can give one."
He smirked. "Ya'd never hit me."
"Ya'd never hit me either."
At that Sawyer backed down, and sat down on the sidewalk of Main Street in Griffin.
"I just like her s'all, Dad. Just wanted her to be mine."
"She can still be yours," Daryl said quietly. He smiled softly as his son turned red and crouched down in front of him. "Listen to me, Bub, all ya'd ever have is regret if ya didn't say somethin' and somethin' happened to her." He paused, and his thoughts went to that black car with the white cross, to Grady where Beth almost moved too soon. "I know what that's like, so ya gotta tell her."
His boy nodded and Daryl stood up. "Now, I gotta go trade this meat for some things for your momma. Ya stay outta trouble, ya hear me?"
"Yes, sir," Sawyer said, but continued to sit on the concrete.
The other guy had been helped up by his friends, and Daryl eyed them a little as he got closer. He wasn't one to fight his son's battles for him, but just that once, he decided to step in.
Mostly due to the smug ass grin on that bastard's face. Daryl had known his kind when he was Sawyer's age. Entitled, worthless. They took what they wanted and be damn the consequences.
"Ya might think you're better than us, but ya ain't. That boy's known how to kill a man since he was about this high." Daryl held out his hand beside his thigh. "He's quiet, too. So am I. Might wanna sleep a little lighter than usual."
Daryl probably enjoyed the way his face paled a little too much before he walked away.
There were no more incidents that day, and Daryl only caught back up with Sawyer once they were leaving the gate.
Daryl had a bag full of clothes for Lilah, who was growing like a weed, plus some things that Beth had asked him to find. Carol had said she didn't need anything, but he brought her some pain meds that someone had tried to blend together from different herbal remedies.
They had been walking in silence for a while when Sawyer cleared his throat.
Daryl looked over at him, but didn't tell him to speak. Over the years, the silence between them when they were out was natural and comfortable, but now he got the feeling Sawyer wanted to speak, but was shying away from it.
"Go on," Daryl said. "Just spit it out."
"I don't know," he mumbled.
"Ya do. What's goin' on?"
Sawyer shrugged and then started chewing on his thumbnail. "I kissed Juju."
Daryl just side-eyed him for a second then asked, "Did she want ya to?"
Sawyer hummed.
"All right then. Good for you."
He peeked over at Sawyer and saw his face turn a bright red before everything spilled out. "Then it just happened so fast. And it was just quick, and I think it should've been longer maybe. I don't think I did it right."
Daryl's eyes widened, and he stopped in the middle of the road.
"She said it was okay, but I think she didn't wanna hurt my feelin's. I just know that when ya and momma go away together, you're gone a lot longer."
"Good Lord," he muttered. "Ya don't even need to think about that. Ya don't know what the fuck's goin' on." His skin flushed with an embarrassment that a man as old as him shouldn't have experienced.
"Juju said it's 'cause y'all hook up."
"Mothafucker," he said and drug a hand through his hair. "Listen to every word, I'm tellin' ya, okay?" Sawyer nodded. "Don't ya ever mention this to your momma. Ever."
"Okay."
"Next thang, it's always fast at first. It takes a little practice to get better. That bein' said, ya better not go near that girl and think about gettin' some without usin' protection, ya got me?"
"Yes, sir," he said quietly and blushed.
"Fuck my life," Daryl whispered. "I don't even know what to say to ya."
"Ya think she was bein' nice, sayin' it didn't matter?"
"I don't fuckin' know," he muttered. "Ya think she wants to be with ya?"
Sawyer nodded slowly.
"Then, yeah, she was prolly bein' nice. If she didn't give a shit, she wouldn't've wasted the effort."
They stood there in awkward silence for a few seconds. Daryl had never thought he would have to have this conversation with his son. No one had ever had it with him.
"She's pregnant."
Daryl looked at him like he was crazy. "Don't exactly happen that fast, Bub."
He flushed and shook his head. "Nah, dad, she's pregnant. She wants it to be mine."
"Nah," Daryl said and shook his head. "Ya ain't gonna get this put on ya. She fucked around, got in a bind, let her get out."
"He's a terrible guy," Sawyer argued and started wringing his hands together. "She didn't—doesn't wanna be with him."
Daryl ignored his slip in wording and pushed on. "She don't gotta be with him, but that don't mean ya gotta be the one to step up for a kid that ain't yours. She fucked around with ya to get ya to thinkin' ya needed to return the favor in some way. That's all this is."
"Nah, dad. She ain't like that. Ya know Juju."
Daryl looked his boy in the eyes and sighed. "This ain't on ya, Sawyer. You're seventeen, almost eighteen. This ain't for ya. This ain't your battle."
"I'm goin' back tomorrow, and talkin' to Rick about her."
"Ya can't do that. I need ya to help me till the garden and check the snares."
"Didn't you and momma do that on your own before I could? Ya don't need me. She does."
Daryl squared his shoulders. "We did, but you're a part of our family, Sawyer."
He nodded, but Daryl had a feeling the fight was far from being over.
That night after Lilah and Sawyer had gone to bed, Daryl sat up with Beth. Carol had gone to her room hours earlier, complaining of another headache. She had been getting those more and more often lately, and Daryl was starting to worry about what that might have meant, but pushed it aside for now.
"What's goin' on, Daryl," Beth asked quietly as she leaned into his side.
The years had been kind to her. She as still as beautiful as she had been when they got to the armory, her scars had lightened up, but still accented her face. Beth was his girl, and she always would be.
It didn't matter if she had a hand-me-down ring and never spoken vows. They were together in ways that some people would never even understand. She was his rock, and he was hers.
"Just the same every day shit, I guess," he said quietly and kissed her cheek.
"Sawyer seemed off when y'all got home."
Daryl shrugged. "Just think he's all messed up over Judith."
Beth sighed. "We should try and get her out here more. I'm sure he misses her."
"Ain't like that no more, darlin'. He don't miss his friend."
Beth's eyes widened. "Oh." She paused then asked. "Are they…together?"
"I think it's official as of today." He answered without giving the full truth.
"Oh my gosh. How excitin'! Sawyer's such a good boy, and the last time I saw Judith, she was just a doll. I bet they'll be great together."
He nodded and closed his eyes, leaning back against the couch.
The last thing he wanted to talk about was the walk home, and even less was the talk he would have to end up having with Rick.
She would find out eventually. Probably tomorrow night. Just not right now.
"Are ya serious?"
Daryl shrugged. "Listen, I didn't push him to this. You and Michonne have been so busy the last couple of years with expandin' that y'all stopped lookin' after her as good, and now, I've got my boy claimin' some baby is his when it ain't."
"Ya think she's trappin' him? Ya think my daughter's like that?"
After a few seconds, Daryl said, "I know what my boy told me. He knows he can come to me with anythin'. I'm tellin' ya, she's knocked up, and Sawyer's gonna go down for this even though that kid belongs to some douchebag that sits on his ass all day and doesn't know how the fuck to care for anyone."
Rick stared down at his clenched fists. "I know the guy. He ain't a good man. Ain't worth a shit. Had I known he'd been sniffin' around her, I'd have put a stop to it."
"Ya shoulda left her with us. None of this shit woulda happened then."
"It'd have been your boy's kid she's havin' then."
Daryl stood up and looked down at Rick. "At least it'd have been blood, and not some loser's."
"I gotta talk to her. See what it is she really wants. It ain't really fair that he don't know about the baby."
He cracked his knuckles and shook his head. "Rick, he don't deserve to know. If I were you, I'd make that little fucker disappear."
"I—I can't do that."
"Then just let me take Judith back with us. Let her have the baby out at the armory. Let that asshole forget her. Let it be Sawyer's."
"Thought ya didn't want to taint that Dixon bloodline."
That stung, and he bowed up at Rick. "I'll lose my son if I don't give in here. He's what matters to me right now. If he wants this, I'll stand beside him."
Rick nodded and then left him standing in front of his apartment in Griffin.
The conversation with Beth went better than expected. She sat quietly for several minutes then said, "Bring her back home."
"What about the baby?" He asked, shaking his head at the thought.
"What about her?" Beth looked at him with her brow furrowed.
"Ain't his."
"The baby is his." Her voice was strong. "No one else's."
The next day, they all went to Griffin, Lilah included.
She'd been there a few times, but since it had expanded and more people were around, he tended to keep Beth and Lilah out of there. He noticed the men started getting to the point where they felt they were owed something by the ladies, and he knew Rick would have to put an end to it soon.
Hell, Daryl felt it in his gut that Judith had been coerced in some way. Sawyer never said anything outright, and he probably never would, but it was just a feeling he had.
Rick was a good man, he had done good things, but this was another failing on his part, and most of the time, they were usually with his kids. It wasn't that he didn't love them. It was that he felt an obligation to help rebuild the world and take care of everyone.
He saw the same thing happen with Carl at the prison.
After Carl's initial, "I need to fuck everything that breaths" phase, he had settled down real quick with a ball buster named Sarah. She kept his ass in check, and they had both decided quick that they didn't want or need children, and he had even heard whispers that she had successful used morning after pills once before.
No one ever came out and asked about it, but every one knew it deep down.
His rage at Judith's pregnancy was fucking epic, but when he had come at Sawyer in Rick's apartment that afternoon, Daryl stepped between them and put his hands on Carl's chest.
"Ya back the fuck up. We ain't gonna have this."
"This motherfucker took advantage of my baby sister."
After staying quiet since they all arrived, Judith stood up, her scars tracing her neck, but her long brown hair covering them slightly.
"Carl, I love Sawyer. I have for a while. We didn't plan on this, but it's happenin', and I feel better goin' back to the armory with them. Mr. Daryl has delivered two babies, and Miss Beth, and Miss Carol are mothers. I think I'd feel better there."
"Ya can't be serious. We can take care of this Judith."
Her face paled, and she shook her head. "No. I can't do that. I'm sorry."
Carl stomped out of the room, leaving Daryl, Beth, Sawyer, and Lilah alone with Rick, Michonne and Judith.
"This is my fault," Michonne spoke up. "I wasn't around enough. I didn't pay enough attention."
"It's no one's fault but mine," Judith said in a broken whisper as she looked down at her feet.
And that was the moment Daryl realized the truth. It was also the moment that Rick drew his gun and headed for the door.
Daryl caught him inside the hallway and pulled him back.
"Not now. Not here."
His blue eyes were wild, and Daryl pulled him into a hug, crushing his body to his to keep him from moving. "It's gonna be okay. I'm sorry for poppin' off yesterday. We ain't gonna let this shit fuck up that kid, ya hear me? She's gonna be strong. I swear it." He pulled back and held Rick's face in his hands, steadying him. "And when the day comes, a few months from now, when no one puts it together, we're gonna take care of him, okay?"
"We?" Rick asked in a strained voice.
"Yeah, we. Don't no one fuck with our family."
Judith had to have been about six months pregnant, and she was glowing.
"Feel her," she said with a grin.
Beth placed her hand on her stomach and smiled. "I remember mine movin' around like that. It's an amazin' feelin',"
Judith nodded and went quiet. "I'm sorry about crashin' your family like this. I'm sorry for takin' advantage of Sawyer."
Without a second thought, Beth hugged her. "This isn't your fault."
Those words brought down the floodgates, and Judith sobbed against her chest. "I didn't mean to make him think I liked him. He was just always around, and I tried to be nice. He caught me by myself one day, and I couldn't get away. I couldn't even move. I tried to scream. I tried to hit him, but I couldn't.
"And then he told me that no one would believe a word I said. That I'd been all over him, tauntin' him. I wasn't. I swear I wasn't. Then the next day, Sawyer came to visit, and he handed me one of those flower bracelets like he always did, and I just lost it. I ran away, and I avoided him. Then I found out, and I practically attacked him the next time I saw him.
"I always wanted it to be him. I wanted that, and I didn't get it, and now he won't touch me at all. He sleeps beside me, and he does everythin' he can, but I'm just—I'm just ruined."
Beth's eyes filled with tears, and she tried to speak through the tightening in her throat. "Sweetheart, this isn't your fault. This coulda happened to anyone. And Sawyer doesn't hate ya or think you're ruined. He just doesn't wanna hurt ya even more."
"He doesn't think I love him. He thinks I picked him because he was the only one there."
"Dixons are some of the most stubborn people on the planet. Just sit him down and tell him."
Judith nodded, but didn't look convinced. "I'm gonna go lay down."
"Okay, sweetheart."
A little while later, Sawyer came in, carrying Lilah on his back. She was giggling and pulling on his overly long hair.
"There are my babies," she said with a smile.
"Juju around?" Sawyer asked, looking around the room.
"She went to lay down."
His brow furrowed. "She okay?"
"Just tired, baby. It's normal."
Sawyer nodded and walked down the hall to their room.
"What are ya doin', sweetpea?"
Lilah gave her a Dixon grin and hugged her. "Sawyer was teachin' me to skin a rabbit. He said I should know, so that I can start helpin' ya cook since Aunt Carol ain't feelin' too good."
Beth sighed, trying not to think about the intense headaches that had been coming on nearly every day with Carol. She just didn't have a clue what she would do when the day came.
"Did ya do good?"
"Ummmhmmm," she said and pointed out back. "Daddy's cookin' it on the grill. He said that tomorrow, he'll help me set my own snares, and that we're gonna learn to fight."
Beth's heart dropped as she realized his reasons for that.
"Good girl, sweetheart. You're gonna be a force to be reckoned with, ya know that?"
Lilah nodded. "Daddy said I'm gonna be able to kick any man's ass that tries to mess with me."
"Language, please, sister," Beth said and handed her a small plastic container with some berries.
"I'm sorry, momma. It slips."
"I know."
Daryl walked in that moment and picked up Lilah from behind swinging her around, almost making her spill the berries. "There's my little girl," he said. "Ya should see the way she uses a knife. It's a damned work of art. Ain't never seen no one better."
"Daddy, put me down!" She squealed and kicked a little, coming dangerously close to his crotch.
"Whoa there, darlin'. I'm puttin' ya down."
She smiled at him when she sat on the crouch, crossing her legs. She was so gangly for ten.
"I think momma should sing us a song."
Daryl sat down beside her and looked at Beth, "I think you're right. Sing for us, momma."
Beth blushed and rolled her eyes, but still started singing one of Daryl's favorites. She watched him lean his head back against the couch and close his eyes. Letting a calm settle over him.
Carol stayed in the room closest to the front door, Sawyer and Judith stayed in the middle office, and Daryl, Beth, and Lilah all stayed in the room they always had. It was a good little space for them, but crowded.
One night after everyone was sleeping, he pulled Beth into the barracks and up the creaky ladder to the roof. It was spring and so pretty outside. He remembered back to their first year here and the time they had spent up on this roof.
This was the spot she had told him about Sawyer.
Once they were up there, he pulled off each piece of clothing, kissing every little sliver of skin. Daryl made her shiver and sigh then whimper is name into the dark.
He leaned over her, feeling her hips cradle his, and pushed the hair off her face. "I love ya."
"Love ya, too."
Then he pushed in so slowly, savoring the feel of her around him, clinging to him as he moved in and out of her body.
It was slow and deep.
Everything he had been looking for, a connection where sometimes those days were few and far between. A longing glance, a touch that lasted just a bit too long. Maybe a few stolen moments in the pantry with his jeans around his ankles while he tangled his hands in her hair, letting her set the pace from her spot between his legs.
It was hard for him to believe that she was still with him. That he had kept her safe, and kept them safe.
He hadn't prevented a lot of shit from happening, but for the most part, it had been an excellent life.
When her body clenched around his, and his name passed quietly from her lips, he pulled away and finished against her hip, leaning in and kissing her at the same time.
"So good, Beth."
"Every time," she whispered and palmed his cheek.
They pulled their clothes back on, and she asked, "Did y'all ever deal with it?"
Daryl looked at her and narrowed his eyes before nodding. It hadn't been quick by any means, or even humane to be honest. He and Rick had pulled him from his apartment late one night and took him deep into the woods.
No one would ever find him.
"I understand," she whispered and linked her fingers together.
"Can't no one know."
"No one ever will."
Abigail Elizabeth Dixon was born on a beautiful summer day when the birds were chirping and the sun was shining. She had dark hair and blue eyes, and Sawyer couldn't put her down.
Daryl wasn't even sure how to deal with the feelings at seeing his son holding his own baby. It was too much, and he knew that Rick was looking at them the same way he was. Neither one of them had ever expected to make it this far.
"Ya take good care of 'em," Rick said and placed a hand on his shoulder. "We'll be back a lot more. I'm—I'm givin' a lot of responsibility over to someone else. I need this more."
Daryl nodded. "I think that's a good idea. We can sit out around the fire, swap war stories."
Rick smirked then turned away. "I've made a lot of bad choices, Daryl. Ya only get so many chances to make things right."
"Yeah."
As he locked the gate after him and Michonne that time, he had a feeling it wouldn't be too much longer before he would be opening for them again.
"She looks like ya," Beth said to Judith with a smile on her face. "I remember when ya were just a little thang. I'd rock ya and sing ya to sleep. Carol would help with ya, too. We just loved seein' ya smile, Judith."
She was quiet for a little while then whispered. "I was afraid that I couldn't love her."
Beth ran a finger down the baby's cheek. "She's gonna be so easy to love, sweetheart."
That night Carol never came out of her room for dinner, and when Daryl cautiously unlocked the door, he saw what they had all been waiting for. She hadn't turned yet, but she definitely gone.
Beth couldn't contain her sobs as Daryl took care of her and wrapped her in a sheet. Sawyer dug the grave near the back wall while he and Beth held each other close on the couch, not even trying to stop their tears.
"We couldn't have done nothin', darlin'. She told me a long time ago that she knew what was comin'. She locked her door every night just in case."
Lilah sat on the floor, staring at the sheet.
"Why's there blood on the corner?"
"To keep her from turnin'." Beth answered quietly.
"Are those things still around?" She asked and looked at them with curious eyes. "I've only seen the ones that can't walk anymore."
"They're still here," Daryl said, his voice thick from crying. "If we ain't careful, things could go back to how they were again."
"I'm gonna miss her," Lilah whispered and climbed up onto their laps. "She was my friend."
"And let me tell ya somethin', sweet pea, she loved ya more than you'll ever know. You were a shinin' star to her. Made her happier than she'd been in a long time."
The tears still fell even with the uplifting words. And little Abigail joined in from the middle room.
A full circle.
Life happens when you least expect it.
He had read that quote a lifetime ago in some magazine when he was waiting for Merle to get out of his parole officer's cubicle.
At the time, he thought it was bullshit. Life was always happening, always moving along. There were bumps in the road, detours, little fender-benders, and full-on pile-ups.
And that had all been before the world went to shit.
After the turn, life was surviving day-to-day, seeing friends and family die right in front of your eyes. It was worrying about food and water and a place to sleep.
Then he had stepped away from it all with Beth, and life became more.
When he wasn't even looking, life went from being something that he just went along with to something that he thrived on. Friends still died, things didn't go exactly as planned, but it was still so much more than he had ever expected.
Four walls and roof became more than a shelter.
A sweet country girl became a fighter, his wife, and the mother of his children.
His children grew up strong and capable.
The world was still their little section of Georgia, and he might never step outside that boundary, but he was never lacking in anything.
The most overwhelming thing of all, though, was that Daryl knew their lives had turned out this way simply because he had grabbed her arm and pulled her back to him in that hospital hallway.
His stubborn refusal to see her go away from him again, and her trust in his word had brought them peace.
It brought them home.