Chapter Text
Daryl’s 6th Month
Merle should have known better before doing what he did with his brother. He knew that if he even dared to get near the prison, he would be dead and gone in a blink. He shouldn’t have hit his baby brother, but damn, the boy was getting on his nerves.
With the Governor on his neck, Merle knew he wouldn’t last long as well. His only shore was to bring a deer for a celebration. He could have hunted one himself, but seeing his baby brother with two of them seemed unfair. Now, he wasn’t his father, not at all, but the loom he saw in his baby brother’s eyes said it all.
He had almost killed Daryl and all of this for what? Out of jealousy and prejudice. Merle was very aware that he was not a saint, but even for his standard, he had reached a new low and he was convinced that he should do better.
It didn’t matter if the prison leader killed him as soon as he stepped into the prison; he owned an apology for his brother, even though apologies were not the Dixon style at all. He didn’t have a hand already, so losing anything else wouldn’t matter.
Merle took a deep breath and left Woodbury in the dead of the night, trying to be as quiet as possible to not startle any of the communities’ guards. At least it was supposed to have been the end but somehow Merle was still here.
He was sure that come morning, he would be already there, loaded and ready for everything that came in his way. He ran as fast as he could in the first miles, stopping every now and then to drink some water from the river, not really caring about some dead flowing around.
Merle slept inside a gas station’s bathroom, taking his time to wash up on the next day, not really caring about the muddy water. He would do all of this for his baby brother even though he knew that he wasn’t even worth kissing the floor Daryl stepped on.
It took him more than 4 hours on the next morning until he finally had a glimpse of the prison’s fences. At least 20 walkers roamed around, but they got nothing on Daryl and his improved hand. He easily killed everything on his way, running towards the gates and trying to open them up.
Right in the tower, there was Rick, doing his guard with Daryl. They were engaged in wat seemed to be an interesting talk, but all of this changed as soon as the leader rested his eyes upon the man who was hitting their gates.
Rick could only see red, he wanted to take his machine gun and destroy every single piece of Merle’s existence. Daryl definitely noticed the change of humor in his leader’s face and he knew that whatever was about to happen, it wasn’t going look good.
“Rick…”- Daryl tried to warn him.
“Shh, not now.”- Rick retorted as cold as ever. He never told his lover to shut up before.
“Please Rick…”-The hunter called again, knowing that there was no use.
Daryl could feel the rage emanating from his leader’s body; Rick was furious and he definitely wanted to see some blood. Even being strong, there was no way the hunter could stop him now.
Rick ran as fast as he could, running down the tower’s stairs, a knife in is hands, ready to provide a blood bath. Merle couldn’t even react because as soon as Rick opened the gates he jumped towards the redneck, knocking him down with the weight of his body, blowing punches all over his face.
Daryl never saw Rick screaming so loud and soon enough, Glenn and Maggie appeared with guns in their hands, ready to shoot whoever was making their leader lose his mind. Rick never stopped punching Merle, blowing strikes everywhere.
Everything seemed quiet except for Rick’s shouts and he wouldn’t stop until the man was dead. Merle tried to fight back, but nothing could surpass Rick’s rage and at the moment Merle felt like he was losing his conscious, the ex-sheriff pointed a knife to his neck, ready to cut him open when he felt two strong hands holding his.
“YA GONNA KILL HIM, STAHP RICK!!!!” – Daryl yelled, tears streaming down his face.
“Don’t you dare, DON’T YOU DARE! He –He almost killed you! Almost killed our… You fucking know it Daryl, you know it!!”- Rick yelled back, not letting the knife go for anything in the world.
“Please, please Rick! Ain’t worth it, ain’t worth it!!”- Daryl felt like he was about to pass out in any minute.
It took them a few seconds until Tyrese tackled Rick to the floor, taking him as far as he could from Merle and Daryl. The hunter was knelt on the floor, trying to take a breath, feeling a lump in his throat.
Merle still could move, but if Daryl didn’t stop Rick, he knew he would be gone by now. More scared than ever, Maggie helped Daryl up, supporting his weight on her shoulders; she knew that Daryl couldn’t be having such a stress at this point.
Rick was still struggling to get out of Tyrese’s grip, but the taller man was way stronger than him. No one muttered a single word, everyone was silent as soon as they saw Merle started walking towards his brother.
He didn’t care about Rick’s screams telling him to stay away , he just kept going, even though he was hurting from the merciless beating. Merle felt his mouth falling as soon as he noticed the roundness of his brother’s stomach.
“Tha hell’s goin’ on?”- Merle inquired, staring straight to his brother.
Daryl didn’t answer to the question even though he wanted to talk to his brother. Instead he simply supported his hand upon his belly, protectively.
“He’s with child.” – Maggie announced, not in a very friendly tone.
“He wha? Wha this nonsense, baby brother?”- Merle couldn’t believe in what he was hearing.
“Ain’t your business. Daryl can get pregnant and thas’ all ya need ta know. Now get outta here, never come back.” – Maggie ordered.
Merle couldn’t believe his eyes; that wasn’t natural and deep inside he knew there was something strange with his baby brother. That was probably the Devil’s work but he didn’t care anymore at this point. Merle didn’t waste time, kneeling at his brother’s feet, asking for his forgiveness.
“m’ sorry baby brother… Never meant ta hurta ya… Never thought ya could…”- Merle never lifted his head from the ground.
“Ya hurt me, Merle… Ain’t no way ta undo what ya did ta me…”- Daryl finally confessed.
“I know baby brother, ain’t never my intention ta… Damnit.” – Merle started to cry on the floor.
Everyone around him started to tell him to leave and never come back, but this time, he felt like they were right about this one. He would never forgive himself for hurting his pregnant brother, never would forgive himself for hurting someone so pure as Daryl.
Daryl, on the other hand felt relieved for the first time in his life. He knew Merle pretty well, knew he was saying the truth. It felt like a huge weight finally left his shoulders. He thought he would suffer, but at this point, he couldn’t care less if he never saw his brother again.
Rick and Carol taught him that he shouldn’t accept or endure any kind of abuse, not even from his family and it took him a long time until he came up with terms with this concept, but he learnt the hard way and now he would never let anyone hurt him like this.
“So long, Merle…”- Daryl said, now staring straight into his brother’s eyes.
“Ya, take care, hear me baby brother?”- Merle nodded, spitting on the floor before leaving.
Only when Merle was long gone from the prison fences, everyone took a deep breath. Rick was still fuming on the floor, but Tyrese succeeded in trying to calm him down, even for a bit. Daryl could feel some stubborn tears down his face, but he knew that his brother was gone for a good cause.
He couldn’t be and hypocrite and say that he was glad his brother was gone because he was his only kin left in that damned world, but he was about to make a family of his own; his kin with Rick’s kin and that was all that mattered.
“You cool now? I’m going to let you go. Relax, man.”- Tyrese announce, slowly releasing Rick from his arms.
As soon as their leader was free from the grip, he run towards Daryl, embracing him tightly into his arms. He wanted to cry, but the tears wouldn’t fall for anything in the world. Rick didn’t even say anything beforehand. His eyes said everything Daryl needed to know.
“I’m sorry… I’m sorry… I promised I would never do something like this again. I’m really sorry.”- Rick asked because he knew he scared Daryl again.
“Ain’t no shame, Rick.”- Daryl nodded, resting his head upon his lover’s shoulders.
Maggie and Glenn finally put their guns away and hugged each other in relief. They were all going to be fine now, that was for sure.
Daryl was a little more quiet than the usual when he felt the first hits; it didn’t take long until he started to lose his breath. He cursed as soon as he felt some water making his pants soggy. his first instinct was to sit in the ground and curl up in a ball.
“Darlin’ what’s going on? Darlin’?”- Rick called, kneeling in front of his lover, not sure about what he should do.
“Water… Water broke…”- Daryl was certain.
Rick guided both his hands to his mouth, eyes impossible watery by now. He lifted himself up as quickly as he could and ran to the cells, shouting Hershel’s and Beth’s names. They were not ready for this especially because they didn’t even know when he was supposed to be due.
Hershel didn’t even waste time, grabbing everything he could. They should bring Daryl back inside the cell, but judging by Rick’s face, the man wouldn’t be able to walk.
“Can’t we bring him here? It will be safer this way.” – Hershel inquired.
“Don’t think we’ll be able to. His water broke and you know he wouldn’t let us help him upstairs. Can you make this work outside? Should I bring something?”- Rick asked.
Hershel huffed. “Well, we need clean sheets, at least four, a mattress and a pillow.”
Rick didn’t answer, but nudded, running towards the spare cells so he could grab everything they needed. Beth carried Hershel’s medical tools in a bag while Hershel himself dressed his gloves.
By the time they finally reached the group, Daryl had his eyes squeezed in pain, but tried his best to remain quiet. He could feel the baby moving, but somehow it made him a little calmer; soon he was going to have his baby in his arms and that was all that mattered for him.
Tyrese helped Carl and Rick to settle the mattress and two clean sheets on the floor. Carol and Maggie brought a bucket with clean water and a few towels, ready to give Daryl a massage.
With Glenn’s help, Tyrese lifted Daryl up, gently placing him on the mattress before covering him up with another sheet.
Daryl tried to breathe slowly, but it was almost impossible giving the pain he felt. In his mind, he muttered ‘easy baby, ya gonna be free soon’. He had no idea how they were going to make this work, but at least, Rick’s reassuring hands holding his helped a lot.
“Hershel, how are we going to…?”- Rick new that a natural birth was impossible.
“I’m going to use some horse tranquilizer here. That’s the best thing I’ve got. Beth will give him a general anesthetic for the c– section.”- Hershel said, already preparing the materials he would need.
Even Hershel was nervous, because he didn’t quite know how everything would work out. Yes, he helped his wife in the birth of their kids and helped many animals, but with a man, he had no idea how to do it properly. He would use all the knowledge he had to succeed.
Rick was as nervous as everyone around them was, so all he could do was hold Daryl’s hand tightly against his chest. His heart was racing like hell, but he couldn’t deny the smile upon his lips.
“Take a deep breath, Darlin’.”- Rick ordered, smiling as his lover did what he was told to.
It didn’t take long until Daryl lost his full consciousness, but somehow, he was not scared this time. After the anesthetics application, Hershel was ready to go on with the procedure. He made an invisible line in his head and used the scalpel.
Daryl had a lot of muscles which made the procedure a little harder than it was supposed to be, but as soon as he was open, Hershel could feel a baby’s leg. Very carefully he pulled the child by its feets, placing it on the sheets Beth was holding in her hands.
The baby started to scream immediately, showing how healthy their lungs were. It was still strange, but so beautiful in its own way.
Rick felt the tears streaming down his face as soon as he got the baby in his arms; it seemed unfair that he was the first one to hold their child.
“Oh lord… Daddy’s girl…”- Rick smiled, noticing how quiet the little lady became as soon as he started to rock her.
“It’s a girl!”- Beth announced to everyone who cheered in the background.
Hershel thought that he was done, but as soon as he felt something strange, he urged everyone to be quiet.
“I think that wasn’t the only one…”- Hershel tried.
“What…?”- Rick couldn’t believe in his eyes. He could tell he would pass out.
“Shh…”- Hershel said, moving his hand inside the belly, feeling a huge hed touching his gloves.
The other baby was in the opposite direction, so that’s why it was difficult to feel it for the first time and there was so much blood. He took his time, gently touching the child, pulling it by it’s head until it was all free from the placenta.
“What a blessing, it’s a boy!”- Hershel announced.
“Two kids? Holy hell!”- Glenn shouted, he couldn’t be prouder.
Rick couldn’t even feel his face, it was too much happiness. He wasn’t even sure if he deserved all of this. He was so proud of his man, he just wanted to hug him tight and never let him go.
The baby boy was surprisingly quiet for a baby, even though he cried a little. He was also quite hairy for a baby, but Rick didn’t mind, holding both his babies in his arms.
Michonne rushed inside to grab two baby clothes and as soon as she returned, she was the first one to dress the kids up, laughing as the baby boy wouldn’t stop holding her dreads.
“He likes you!”- Rick smiled, making the lady blush.
“Yeah… What’s his name?”- Michonne asked, genuinely curious.
“Jackson. He’s Jackson and she’s Ashley.”- Rick pointed to the kids.
Everyone from the prison took their time to hold the babies and welcome them to their new family. Daryl wouldn’t believe that he had two kids inside him and Rick couldn’t wait until his lover was up to give him the news.
Hours passed until Daryl finally gained his consciousness again. He could feel two heavy thing upon his chests and he started to cry when he realized what it was.
“Damnit…. Two of you?”- He was so happy he couldn’t hold back the tears.
With Rick’s help, he sat on the mattress, trying to hold both his kids in his numb arms, but luckily he had strength enough to do it. The first thing he did was to scent them with his smell, kind of like an extinct.
“Thank you for giving me these two jewels, darlin’.” – Rick greeted, pressing a couple of kissed upon’s Daryl’s lips.
“Thank ya…” – Daryl blushed, pressing kisses on his babies’ chubby cheeks.
Daryl’s stomach was hurting like hell because of the splice in his belly, but nothing even compared to the happiness he felt for having his kids into his arms. Soon the babies started to chew on his tank top and he knew that it could only meant one thing.
Urging for some privacy, Daryl asked Rick to cover him up with the sheets so he could take his tank top out. He was so scared about feeding his babies and he didn’t even know if he had milk or something like that.
As soon as he felt the smooth thingies suckling on his nipples, he couldn’t help the small smile, even though he was concentrated in his task and it felt like he was all alone there, just him and his two kids.
Even Rick pretended to not be there, to give his man some privacy; he deserved after all he’ve been through.
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Two Years later
Carl was giggling so hard when Ashley and Jackson were learning to walk with their papa. Daryl was definitely the type of dad who believed that kids needed to fall in order to learn how to stand on their both feet.
“Com’ on Ash, com’ on Jack.”- Daryl encouraged with arms wide open.
Ashley was the first one to fall on the floor, but even so, she didn’t cry and tried again and again until she’s reached her papa’s legs, swinging her arms happily and stomping her little feet. Jackson on the other hand, started to cry as soon as he saw that he was all alone in the other corner.
Daryl took a deep breath to avoid crying, he couldn’t handle his sons cuteness, because he was just like him when he was a kid.
“Hey, remember about not helping them out?”- Carl said as he played with Judith.
“Mah boy needs me. Ain’t your business, brat.”- Daryl blinked, running towards his son to take him into his arms.
“Papa…”- The kid cried out.
“Shh… Ain’t no shame in falling, baby boy. Papa’s here.”- Daryl pressed a gentle kiss upon his son’s forehead.
“How’s everything going?”- Rick asked from afar, bringing a tray with lemonades for Carl and Daryl, a sippy cup for Judith and two baby bottles for the kids.
“We fine here, old man. Jack hurt himself, but he strong, ain’t he?” – Daryl asked.
“Yesh!”- Jack replied, hiding his face upon the crook of his papa’s neck.
“Hey…”- Rick announced, stealing a kiss from his husband before serving the goods for everyone.
“Wanna help m’ out?”- Daryl asked as he had a sip on his lemonade.
“Sure, love. Anything you want.”- Rick smiled, pressing another kiss upon his lover’s hair.
He couldn’t believe how far they went, couldn’t believe he had the man of his dreams and the life he wanted so much. Of course, it wasn’t the house in a beautiful neighborhood, with the white fences and everything else he wanted, but it was safe and he wouldn’t change this place for anything in the world.
Rick would never forget about that first April 22nd, where all his dreams came true and he made a living by what he got, by what he gave and how his dreams came true by living out to the fullest, he didn't regret anything at all.
The End