Tragic Coincidence | Daryl Dixon

Chapter Thirty-Four.

I gripped the bark of the tree for dear life, feeling the urge to vomit coming way to quick. I sighed and bent over emptying the contents of my stomach, which wasn't too much. I heard growling behind me and turned to see a walker stumbling towards me about twenty feet away. I didn't even care to kill it at this point, and let it walk closer and closer to me. I then looked back to what i was still holding in my left hand. Something that just changed my life forever. I never thought two pink lines would mean so much to me, but these two little lines just told me everything I feared. I am pregnant.

I felt warm tears stream down my face as I chucked the pregnancy test deep into the forest, and grip the tree again feeling suddenly dizzy. The walker was now right behind me, so close it's growls were practically making my ears ring. I swung around quickly and stabbed it through the eye just as it lunged to take a chunk out of my shoulder. I pulled my knife out and sheathed it at my side before walking back towards the prison.

Had this been before the apocalypse I would have been thrilled to pieces to have a baby, I always wanted one. But now, it could mean life or death, and not just for me. Me being pregnant was putting an unnecessary risk to everyone at the prison which now included forty more bodies....well now forty one I guess. Three months ago we took in all the remaining people at Woodbury, and they settled in nicely. But more people just meant more mouths to feed, more kids to look after, and more chances for one of the elderly to turn in their sleep and decide to feed on their cell mate. 

I had a lot more responsibilities now, being one of the only doctors here and a lot of people who needed tending too. It was like i was at the hospital all over again, being the only doctor on the entire floor. I didn't mind though, it kept my mind busy, kept it from wandering to a certain redneck who broke me. 

Daryl and I still haven't talked since everything went down between us, and i still found myself pining over a guy who broke my heart. I missed him so much, and every time I saw him from across the prison, or beside me in the car on a run, I just wanted to reach over and touch him. And now knowing that i was carrying his child, it just made this so much harder on me. I know how Daryl wanted to be a father, he told me so numerous times, especially since Judith was born. And I spent the entire time walking back to the prison debating whether or not to tell him right now. But things are different between us, and I don't know how we would take it.

I saw the prison come into view, and Maggie waved at me before opening the gate for me to run through. "What did it say?" She asked me, knowing exactly why i went out into the woods. Maggie and Glenn had gotten me the test last week when I started feeling weird. "It's positive" I whispered to her, looking down at my blood stained boots. I felt Maggie's arms wrap around my body, and I tightly hugged her back. "What am I going to do Maggie" I whimpered into her shoulder as I found myself crying again. Maggie just rubbed my back gently, " You know what you need to do" She whispered in my ear. I pulled away and she gave me that look that said 'talk to Daryl'.

I shook my head and started playing with my fingers as we walked back up the path to the prison. "Daryl needs to know" She told me.

I know I needed to tell him, he had the right to know I just couldn't bring myself to even open my mouth to talk to him. Maggie nodded to me before running back on watch, and i headed back inside our cell block. Michonne and I were still sharing a cell, but oddly enough Daryl moved into the cell right beside ours. I like to think it's because he missed me and wanted to stay close, But I know that's wishful thinking. 

Somehow I found myself standing outside of Daryl's cell, looking in. He was sitting up in his bed sharpening an arrow. He must have felt me staring because his eyes suddenly looked up and met mine. I felt my breath hitch in my throat as I looked down at him, his stare felt like it was burning into my soul. He stood up and took two steps close to me, keeping his eyes locked with mine the whole time. Him standing this close to me, and feeling the warmth of his body close to mine was making every nerve ending in my body tremble in longing. 

I missed him so much, and still loved him with everything in me, and I just wanted to reach out and pull him into me. Daryl's eyes held so much emotion right now, almost as if he could feel everything flowing through me, like his emotions matched mine. "Emma" He whispered to me. I could feel the tears building up in me, threatening to pour over at any second. One tear finally did make it's way down my cheek but never made it far, as Daryl had reached out and wiped it away before it could drop. 

I gasped feeling his touch on my skin after so long, and leaned into his hand that rested on my cheek. But suddenly Daryl's words filled my ears. "I lied" and that was when I pulled away from him and stomped out of the cell block. I needed something to do, something to keep me away from him, so I headed outside to where Rick was, he was still the leader of our group and deserved to know what was going on with me.

Rick was plowing some vegetables out in the field, he has taken to spending his time farming these days. I think he was tired of the fighting and just wanted to do something normal, well tending to cucumbers and tomatoes were about as normal as you could get these days. "Rick!" I said tapping him on the shoulder. He whipped around and pulled some headphones out of his ear, before smiling down at me. "Hey you" he said setting his hoe against the lean to building we built out here. I was never really one to beat around the bush, so I decided to just blurt it out. "Rick, I'm pregnant" I said putting my hands on my hips and looking past him to the cucumbers that were growing behind him.

When I looked back at Rick he was actually smiling. "That's great Em's" He said. I frowned and shook my head "Don't call me that" I told him, him looking confused but nodded anyway. There was only one person I would ever let use that nickname, and we currently haven't spoken in months. "Just thought you should know" i said nodding my head, rubbing the tiny swell in my stomach with my left hand. 

"He doesn't know does he?" Rick asked placing a hand on my shoulder. I looked up at him with tears in my eyes and looked back down. Rick placed a finger under my chin and forced me to look back up at him. "I know it's not the same, but I was furious when Lori didn't tell me" He said softly. I looked up into Rick's soft but hardened blue eyes and couldn't help but realize how handsome he really is. His brown curly hair was falling unruly onto his forehead, with sweat dripping down his face. But I shook that feeling away realizing my heart would always belong to Daryl, even thought often times my heart felt like a picture frame shattered on the ground. 

"I remember that" I said.

"You and I both know that Daryl will die before letting something happen to that baby" Rick told me. I already knew that. Daryl would walk through fire and back to save his own flesh and blood, and I remember the days i felt like he would do that for me too. But those days were gone, I never felt like Daryl still cared for me. And a small part of me hated and loved at the same time, that i would forever have a piece of him with me. A young boy or girl who I'm sure would look exactly like Daryl, just like the dream I had when I was unconscious. 

"Thanks Rick" I said smiling up at him. Rick nodded and pointed towards the prison with raised eyebrows. I turned around and saw Daryl running in our direction, looking rather flustered. "Now is as good a time as any" Rick said before walking away, I didn't see where as my eyes were glued to Daryl who looked like he was being chased by a nest of hornets. 

Well here goes nothing....