A/N: Sooooo here we are again! I hope you are all still out there! VERY SPECIAL THANKS to Rhanon Brodie for helping me out with my writer's block and kicking my ass into gear again! (Have you all been reading her stuff? Please do … it's absolutely amazing! And HOT to boot!)
Blink and you miss a beat Before your son becomes a man Blink everything's been augmented
Keep one of your eyes open at all times
Think that you're on the brink
The shit hasn't even begun to hit the fan
Consequence you'll see will be stranger
Than a gang of drunken mimes
Situation has a stink
Better clear the air before your son becomes a man
You've been left so far behind
I think for sure next time
You should wear a pair of eyes
In the back of your head
Consequence you've seen
Has been stranger than sci-fi of any kind
Situation baffles me
I guess it's true you too, are one
of the walking dead You better think fast, think fast It's bigger than you or me*
Cause you never know
What's coming around the bend
You better not blink
oh blink
The consequence is a bigger word than you think
Slowly Kim walked over to the couple, and handed the baby to Sara.
"I'll leave you two alone for a bit. I'll be next door if you need anything Sara." Then, she slipped quietly out the door. A smile spread over Sara's lips, as she turned to face Daryl.
"I named him Cameron", she said as she brushed his feathery hair back from his face.
"Cam ... this is your daddy" Cameron's eyes blinked a few times before he let out a long coo and a giggle.
Daryl slid his hands under Cam's arms and pulled him close to his chest. He had sandy brown hair and pale skin like Sara's that was so soft, Daryl thought for a moment he was made of silk. But his eyes … his eyes took Daryl's breath away. They were such a clear shade of blue … almost like glass. Staring into their delicate almond shape was like looking into a mirror. Cam was a perfect specimen of innocence and hope in a world without much of either one left.
Sara wrapped her arm around Daryl's waist and leaned her head on his shoulder. "He'll be six months old next week ... isn't he beautiful?" Daryl could hear the waiver in her voice and knew without looking that she was crying. He couldn't blame her ... he was doing the same thing, steamy tears falling slowly down his already flushed cheeks.
He kissed Sara gently on the forehead and whispered "He's perfect". She looked up into Daryl's eyes, "We did good, huh?" she murmured.
Daryl just nodded in response. Somehow he knew she was unsure of herself. Hell, he was too. But he couldn't help but feel as if all of the bullshit they had gone through in their childhoods had somehow made them both stronger. Connected them in some way that no one else understood. Perhaps that's what attracted him to her in the first place; a fellow human being with no urge to speak of terrible things past. Just an urge to move on.
Daryl was determined to give Cam a life that he would be proud of. Even if the dead were walking, and the living were slowly turning into different kinds of monsters. Daryl knew it wouldn't be easy, and he wasn't even sure how it would all work. He just knew that Cameron would never, ever wonder if his parents really loved him.
Cam shifted in Daryl's arms, and suddenly, he seemed focused intently on Daryl's face ... reaching his tiny hand out to grab Daryl's nose. Sara chuckled quietly.
This was the first time in his life that Daryl had ever seen a human being with such clarity. His eyes were so naïve and perfect. This little child, his own child, was oblivious to the horror that lived just outside these walls. Daryl couldn't remember the last time he saw someone so innocent. Even Carl and Sophia were old enough to have seen things they shouldn't have ... and done things they shouldn't have. But Cameron ... he was so much younger, and still so tiny ... hell, he probably hadn't even seen a sunset yet. Or felt the warm grass between his toes.
Daryl tried to remember if there was ever a time that he was so innocent ...
The curtains were flapping with the gentle breeze that came through the window; the crisp summer air filling Daryl's lungs as he awoke slowly. He yawned and stretched his arms out before sitting up and rubbing his eyes. He wandered into the living room where Merle was watching cartoons on TV. He plopped himself down by his brother's side.
"Whatcha doin?"
"Watchin' Superman." Merle answered, never looking away from the screen.
Daryl watched for a few minutes, then got up and ran into the bathroom. He burst back into the living room with a towel in his hand.
"Merle, can you make me a cape? I wanna be Superman! Please!" Daryl begged.
Irritated, Merle turned to Daryl "I'm tryin' ta watch this Daryl! Will ya leave me alone?" He turned back to the TV set, as Daryl sat quietly on the sofa and hung his head. He decided to make his own cape and tried to tie it by himself but his fingers were just too small to get it right.
A commercial came on, and Merle grabbed a soda from the kitchen. When he came back, he noticed Daryl trying his hardest ... and failing ... to make his cape. He stood there for a minute just looking at his little brother.
Daryl finally gave up, out of frustration, and lifted his eyes to meet his brother's gaze. He wasn't sure why, but Merle's expression softened and he let out a loud huff before grabbing the towel from Daryl.
"Ya see ... here's the problem ... this thing's too big. Go get one 'a those old sheets from the basement."
Daryl's eyes lit up and he sprinted towards the stairs, and down into the basement. He found the old sheets and grew even more excited as he picked out a light blue one. He hurried back to Merle and watched as he ripped the sheet into the proper cape-size, for a five year old. He ripped another long strip, and wove it through the sleeves of Daryl's t-shirt and tied it to the cape.
"There ... that oughta do fer now. Just don't let Ma catch ya flyin' off the porch."
"THANKS MERLE!" Daryl screamed as he ran around the house with his arms out making airplane noises as best as he could. Merle just shook his head and laughed.
"Daryl? You okay?"
Daryl blinked hard and turned as Sara was clearing a few things off of the bed.
He squeezed Cam's hand softly, "Yeah ... I'm good"
For the first time, in a very long while, Daryl felt an excitement growing inside of him. That nervous feeling tinged with fear that hides behind the exhilaration of something new. It seemed like decades since he'd had that feeling ... and for all he knew, it had been. An image of Merle teaching him how to change gears on the motorcycle bolted through his mind, and he savored the way his heartbeat seemed to strengthen and his head cleared instantly.
He looked around at the meager accommodations. It wasn't much to look at, but after living in a tent for months on end, this could have passed for the Hilton.
"So ... is it true? I mean, that the dead are ... coming back to life out there?"
Daryl inhaled Cam's scent deeply; baby powder and soap filled his lungs, as if it was fuel for his body. He passed Cam back to Sara, and sat her on the edge of the bed, kneeling in front of her.
"You ain't never seen a walker, have ya?" He asked calmly.
The look on her face gave him his answer. "Walker. Is that what you call 'em?"
Daryl shrugged, "among other things"
"Oh my God" Sara's head hung "I can't believe it ... I mean, I heard all of the stories, but ..."
"Sara" Daryl interrupted, "Look ... I ain't tryin' ta be an ass ... but I need you to start packin'. We gotta git outta here. The sooner, the better. "
"Wait ... you just got here! Why would we leave? It's not safe out there for Cam!" She started to push back from Daryl "Dr. Tilley told me that-"
"I don't care what some crazy-ass doctor told ya! The only way you're gonna be safe, is if you come with me! Ain't no one looking out for anyone but themselves these days ... and that's a fact. I didn't come all this way to stay here, locked up like some animal"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa ... Daryl! Have you lost your mind? We aren't locked up here, we're being protected! From those ... walkers, or whatever the hell you call them ... and what do you mean by crazy-ass doctor? Barb has been nothing but nice to me. She saved my life, Daryl!" Sara locked eyes with him. "She saved your son's life too".
The words stung Daryl like a slap in the face. This was the first time he'd heard them out loud. Your son.
And he hadn't been there to protect him ...
Sara got up and walked slowly over to the small playpen, placing Cam in it and grabbing a small teddy bear. She stroked his belly for a minute before Cam's little fingers latched on to it, pulling it from her grip.
The air in the room thinned into nothing ... and Daryl found himself short of breath. Sometimes, the dead were easier to deal with.
"Besides ... Cam can't get his vaccinations until he turns six months old. There's no way I'm leaving before he gets those. He's made it all this time without catching that horrible infection ... we just have to hold on for six more days"
Daryl's head was spinning, "What vaccinations?"
"You know ... mumps, measles, chicken pox ... the same stuff we got when we were little" Sara stood up as Daryl moved in close to her. "And of course the new one ... ah, what do they call it ... FR3"
Daryl's eyes narrowed "What tha hell's FR3?"
Sara looked at Daryl like he just shit on the floor. "You're joking, right? FR3 ... the vaccine for the infection" She took a small step back that anyone else might not have caught. "Didn't they give it to you when you got here?"
"I don't know for sure."
"What do you mean, you don't know? How can you not know?"
Daryl scratched his head, trying to make sense of everything. "I don't KNOW Sara! I was unconscious when they brought me here, so Lord knows what tha hell they did ta me"
Sara was beyond puzzled. Sitting back down on the bed, she began to rub her temples. Daryl paced in front of the playpen, where Cam seemed perfectly content to slobber on the face of the teddy bear.
"I don't know what they told ya here, Sara. But there ain't no cure ... and there sure as hell ain't no vaccine. Once you've been bit ... it's all over. End of story."
"That's not true Daryl" but it sounded more like a question than a statement. "Barb is the one that found the cure. I've seen it! She's helped other people , other ... survivors. Her whole team has been making trips to the CDC to get more supplies, so they can keep making it." Her voice was almost pleading now, "matter of fact ... some men just came back yesterday with more stuff, I ..."
"The CDC?" Daryl cut her off "Sara ... there ain't nothin' left of the damn CDC! I was stuck inside the fuckin' thing for two days before it got blown to shit!"
"But Daryl, I don't ... understand ... I ..."
Daryl paused a moment to collect his thoughts. He looked over at Sara and he could see the color had drained from her face, and the tears hovered at the edge of her eyes. She was having trouble comprehending everything that Daryl was telling her. She knew Daryl didn't lie ... it wasn't ingrained in him like so many others. He always told her the truth, no matter what. To him, lying was just a waste of time and energy.
He sat down next to her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.
"I don't know what all's goin' on around here ... but somthin' ain't right. We can talk about everything later ... but right now, we need ta leave. I got a car waitin' at yer place, loaded up with everything I could find, and all yer stuff that I could fit. Please ... just trust me."
She looked up into his eyes, her lower lip trembling a little.
He brushed her hair out of her eyes, and held her chin up with his fingers, "Ya still trust me, right?" he asked softly.
The corners of her mouth turned up slightly, "Of course I do Daryl, but-"
He interrupted her, by pressing his lips firmly to hers. Her arms snaked around his waist and she seemed to melt into his body. He wound his hand through the hair at the base of her neck, and her mouth opened just enough for his tongue to slip inside. He hadn't realized how much he missed being close to her, and he felt her clutch at his shirt.
Knock, knock, knock
"Sara? It's me ... Kim. Can I come in?"
Damn.
Sara opened her eyes, still glazed over with lust. She took a deep breath and let go of Daryl, heading towards the front of the room, on wobbly legs. The locked clicked open, and she stood back to let Kim pass her by.
When she entered, she shared a long, frightened look with Daryl before standing in the middle of the room silently. Sara glanced back at Daryl, then to Kim once more. "You all right Kim?"
Kim's eyes dropped to the floor, as Sara started to shut the door ...
In the blink of an eye, the camo-covered men stormed into the room, shouting orders and pointing their weapons at Daryl. Sara shrieked and Daryl instinctively grabbed her and flung her in front of the playpen to cover Cam, while he moved towards the bathroom, keeping the possible path of bullets as far away from them as he could.
"Put your hands up, and drop to your knees!"
Daryl's heart was ready to leap out of his chest, but he obeyed the orders, in a desperate attempt to keep the focus on himself, and not his son. Kim ran to Sara's side, fumbling a quick apology, and Daryl could see the red marks on her arms that resembled hand prints ... and he knew that she'd been forced to come to the door.
"Oh my God, what are you doing?" Sara shouted. "He hasn't done anything wrong! Leave him alone!"
One man stepped in front of the others and lowered his gun. "Really? So stealing a weapon from an armed officer isn't wrong?" The man holstered his weapon and hoisted Daryl up to his feet, before frisking him and pulling the small hand gun out of the waist of his pants.
Sara's eyes widened in disbelief as she looked at Daryl.
He didn't know what to say ... he felt like he had let her down somehow. This wasn't how it was supposed to go. But all he could think about was Cam. Ironically, his previous 'experiences' with the authorities had always made him angry. And it usually intensified when it came to Daryl being hauled around like a piece of trash. But he was different. He could still feel Cam's tiny little hands on his own, and somehow it grounded him, made him feel important. That little boy was turning him into a father, and he had only seen him for the first time a half-hour ago.
Course, that didn't mean that the take-no-shit side of him was gone either.
"Maybe if yer guard eased up on the Twinkies, he would have noticed someone taking tha piece right off his hip" Daryl snickered. The man didn't respond but instead slapped the cuffs on Daryl ... again.
"Where are you taking him?" Sara pleaded with the officer.
Daryl was escorted out of the room, and another man in uniform stepped up to her, "He broke the law ma'am. He's got to be punished, just like the rest of us. He'll be locked up down on 5." The man's voice turned a touch softer, "If you want to see him, you'll have to wait until tomorrow"
And just as fast as they came in, the men were gone.
*Lyrics to "Consequence" by Incubus