You don't want to part ways with Rusty but his town isn't the safety you're looking for. Its prime real estate for looters and practically every house is filled with the dead, not to mention the ones wandering the streets. It would take the three of you months if not years to set something up and even then all it would take is another Negan to come along and destroy it all in a matter of hours.

"Are you sure you won't come?" Simon asks for what must be the hundredth time.

"When I'm ready," Rusty replies, holding his arms out to you and embracing you in a tight goodbye squeeze.

"You take care of that little one and I'll see you when I see you."

He reaches for Simon's hand, shaking it firmly but Simon pulls him into an embrace. "Soon," he practically orders and Rusty smiles sadly before turning to head back into the house.

"I hate this," you say, stuffing the car with the last of your belongings. It's only been a few weeks but a few weeks can feel like a lifetime of knowing someone.

"I do too but we haven't got a choice," Simon opens the car door and you get in with a sigh.

Rusty wanted time alone in the place that had been his home for so many years and you could appreciate that even if you feared what might happen to him.

When Simon puts the car key in the ignition you both look at each other, silently waiting to see if one of you has changed your mind about leaving. But Rusty isn't your responsibility, Sylvie is.

"This sucks ass but we need to think about our family," Simon decides, pulling from the drive and you rest your hand on his thigh, squeezing it reassuringly.

"I just hope we can find this cabin," you say, smiling.

"I can't believe you're doubting me now," he replies cheerfully and you're both forcing it but smiling makes you feel a little better. Besides, the sun is shining and being on the road again feels rejuvenating.

You want to be somewhere you can put down some roots and start making your own home. Rusty has told you about just the place. A little middle of nowhere hunting cabin which has been in his family for generations. Given the situation with the roads you don't know how long it's going to take to get there but in the end it only takes two days.

What comes next is the hike and you'd be lying if you said you were looking forward to it. But you want to make the best of things and at first it's nice. You watch Simon's ass as he leads the way and can't help but remember the unbearably hot day when you'd followed Simon through the woods before diving into a pool of water and… well… making Sylvie.

The only difference is the baby carrier he has snuggled against his chest and every time he turns to check you're still with him or to stop and look at the map your breath catches at the sight of him and that tiny precious bundle of pink.

What is it about a six foot hulk of man holding a baby that turns you to mush? With a dreamy sigh the answer is… everything.

But now, hours later, you're the one holding the baby and she's feeling like a lead weight as you trudge along. Suddenly nothing seems dreamy or cute.

"Give me the map!" you snap, huffing with exhaustion. You'd set out at dawn hoping to make it to safety before nightfall but you should have been there by now and everything is aching.

"How about I carry her for a while," Simon soothes, stuffing the map into your hand as he takes Sylvie from the carrier.

"I think we took a wrong turning back at that rock, we need to head more this way," you say, gesturing but Simon isn't even paying attention to you. He's holding Sylvie which means his brain has turned to mush while she basks in his affection like a cub in the sunshine.

"Simon!" you say, losing what's left of your patience.

"I don't think we did take a wrong turn, mama bear," he replies, talking in his sing song baby voice, his eyes never leaving Sylvie as he tries to make her smile even if all her smiles are pretty much wind or pure luck.

"You're not even looking at the map!" you say tartly.

Simon looks at you, raising one eyebrow, "don't need to."

"Oh really? How stupid of me to forget you're a man and you don't need to look at a map. You're just gonna use your penis as a compass to-"

Meanwhile Simon's hand is on your shoulder, guiding you until you're seeing what he's seeing. A cabin, no more 30 feet away and instantly you feel three things. Stupid, relieved and just a tiny bit sorry.

Your cheeks heat but you don't let him know that. "I guess we've found it then," you say, shoulders straightening as you march forward. If it hadn't been for Simon you would have walked right past the cabin but you're not going to admit that either.

The original part is built from stone but there's an extension made from wood and a deep porch just like Rusty had described. It's prettier than you'd thought when he'd first mentioned a hunting cabin. You'd imagined bear traps and pelts but thankfully all of that was contained to a little outbuilding around the back.

According to Rusty his wife had forced him to spruce up the place if he ever expected her to spend any time there with him and even though she never came to the cabin more than a handful of times in 40 years of marriage he'd been the dutiful husband.

You smile, thinking Simon would do exactly the same thing for you and suddenly you're feeling a little bit guilty about losing your cool, "I'm sorry about before. I was just-"

"It's forgotten," he says softly, placing Sylvie in your arms. "You wait here while I give this place a quick once over."

It doesn't take more than a minute before he's ushering you inside. Afterall, there are only two rooms and one walk-in pantry slash boot room. The original stone part of the cabin is the living room and kitchen while the newer part contains one long bedroom with a king size bed squeezed into one end and a set of bunk beds on the other.

"It's practically a goddamn mansion," Simon jokes when you've completed the grand tour, his arms spreading out wide enough to dwarf the sitting area.

"We'll take it!" you say, brushing a fingerful of dust off the fireplace. It might not be the 3 bed, 2.5 bath place you'd had in another life but it was cosy and a perfect hideaway from the rest of the world. Still, you're under no illusions about the amount of work it's gonna take to make a life here but you're ready for it and so is Simon.

You spend the rest of the day exploring the area around your new home and checking to see what supplies are in the cabin before settling Sylvie down for the night in the comfort of an empty dresser drawer. Eventually Simon will make the trek back down to where you left your car and pick up the travel cot you'd brought with you but for now it would do.

When she's sleeping you find Simon standing by the porch, admiring the stars and no doubt enjoying the peacefulness of having found somewhere to settle. It feels good, it feels right and as he turns to you with an armful of split timber and a smile, you say, "let's get married."

"Now?" Simon laughs, probably thinking you're not being serious.

"Now," you agree, stepping closer to him and encouraging his armful of timber to the floor. "I mean, I know we're not gonna have a wedding or anything and honestly the idea of standing here exchanging vows is kinda corny and enough to make me gag-"

Simon's snort of laughter interrupts you and you smack your hand against his chest. "You know, this isn't easy for me."

He wraps his arms around you, "I know, I just can't believe you're asking me to marry you and being so damn romantic about it too."

You narrow your eyes, trying to be mad at him, trying to shake yourself free from his embrace, "you know what? I've changed my mind."

He only holds you closer, "well I haven't and I think what you're trying to say is that nothing else matters. Just me, you and Sylvie. That you love me and I love you and vows are nothing but words compared to that. But even so, I will love, honor and obey the hell out of you until the day I die. There's no question about it. I want you to be my wife."

He's right. Your only witnesses are the stars in the sky and the way Simon's eyes melt into yours. They're all you need. White dresses, champagne, a hundred guests, none of them make a marriage and none of them really matter when you're standing with a man who you know will not only kill for you, but die for you too.

Opening your heart never came easy before the world ended so you can't expect it to now. And maybe saying vows is the cheesiest thing you've ever done but Simon's worth it. You take a breath, sinking into the way he's holding you. "I didn't think I'd ever fall in love again. I wanted to hate you rather than admit the truth because I thought that would be easier. It wasn't. There's nothing easier than loving you Simon. And if we have to make a vow then I want us to promise that no matter what happens we won't ever give up."

"I promise," Simon replies, his voice a husky whisper before he presses his lips against yours, sealing your promises with a kiss.

Your long journey hasn't really afforded much time for intimacy and you want more than a single kiss to seal your fates together, you need to feel the weight of him on top of you and the length of him inside. Simon seems to need it too and together you tumblr onto the porch seat, excited hands pulling off clothes before you finally give into comfort and grab a quilt from inside the house.

You spread it across the porch while Simon kicks off his boots and slowly unbuckles his belt. Making love under the canopy of stars feels like the perfect way to consummate your marriage and when he enters you for the first time in a long time you flinch, expecting pain but instead feeling nothing but pleasure.

"I love you," you whisper, stroking your fingers along his spine and urging your hips to meet his every thrust.

The end result doesn't seem to matter as much as the closeness you feel, wrapped in his arms, his body covering yours. Outside of your cabin the whole world is ticking by but on your porch it's like time has stood still to let you enjoy this moment together.

When you climax, it washes over you in one long toe curling wave of bliss and Simon's finish isn't too far behind, his release spilling onto your inner thigh.

"I didn't think you'd want any more little surprises," he says, after a while and you couldn't agree more. You were happy with just the three of you and if any surprises happened to come along then you'd adjust but any extra family members would be just that, surprises, unexpected knocks of fate.

"I have a confession to make…" he says after you've been lying curled up together for a while.

You roll onto your side, watching him, waiting.

"You know that day, when…" he inclines his head to the side, "you know…"

"When what?"

"When I walked in to find you…"

Memories flood back, your cheeks filling pink even if you hadn't felt particularly embarrassed at the time, "masturbating," you say.

He clears his throat, you can tell he's changing his mind about what he's about to say next but he pushes it out anyway. "I didn't have any reason to go into your room. There was no message from Negan. The truth is I stopped to tie my bootlace and I heard you. You sounded so goddamn sexy and I already wanted you, I'd fantasized about you so hard I thought my dick might fall off. I couldn't help myself, I was standing in your room before I'd even thought things through properly."

You sit up, your mouth hanging open, "you great big pervert."

"I know," he shrugs, smiling sheepishly, "I'm not gonna lie, seeing you spread across your bed was better than my wildest fantasies but I've felt guilty about it ever since."

You think about the time you'd walked into his room to find him wearing nothing but tented boxer shorts and a smile. When it comes to Simon you know exactly what it feels like to give into your baser instincts. Still a wicked grin peels across your lips, you're not gonna let him live this down, "I'm married to an animal!"

"So you still wanna be married to me then?" he says, pulling you onto his lap and nuzzling his lips into your shoulder.

The truth is Simon walking in that day was the most erotic moments of your life and even if it was an unusual start you were glad it happened and you were glad to be here with Simon now. Still, it wouldn't be right if you didn't make him suffer just a little.

"I'll think about it," you say, reaching for your shirt but he stops you, pulling you onto his lap.

"Maybe I can help you come to a decision," he croons, the warmth of his hands splaying across your back as he nuzzles his lips into your neck. You love the way his moustache tickles your skin when he kisses you there and you can't help but melt against him.

But you're not alone in this cabin and for the first time, and surely not the last time, sex is interrupted by the baby. Her little cry pierces the night air and you both laugh softly.

"I'll get her," he insists but you go with him anyway, pulling on one of Simon's shirts before all three of you settle into the king size bed.

It's cosy and warm and you rest your head on the pillow, admiring the way Simon looks when he's cradling Sylvie. Soon you're sleeping soundly and that's how you spend the first night in your new home. With Simon keeping watch over his girls, savouring the night so he can carry this moment with him for the rest of his life. It was strange to think if he hadn't walked into your room that day then everything would have been different.

The End