These Awkward Moments

Chapter 41 The Kingdom

Three months later
Delilah's POV
I had reached 32 weeks gestation. We continued to visit Dr. Carson each month, and even though the baby still measured slightly smaller than my dates, he was satisfied that it was staying on track. We were hopeful that Dr. Carson would consider coming to stay with us when I got closer to my due date. It would be easier than relocating our whole family, and he would have access to the surgical suite in my infirmary if there was an emergency.

Daryl was happy that my baby bump had been steadily growing and I was now noticeably pregnant. He had finally eased up on pushing me to eat so much, but he still watched over me closely. I had expected him to be more attentive during my pregnancy, but I had never anticipated just how sweet he was going to be. He waited on me as much as I would allow, made sure I had a steady source of ice cream coming from the Sanctuary, and insisted on rubbing my feet and back every night.

Daryl still had concerns about our love making hurting the baby, especially now that positioning was becoming more of a challenge. But he was also willing to reap the benefits of my heightened pregnancy libido. The day I explained to him that we wouldn't be able to have sex for six weeks after the baby was born I thought he was going to insist that we never get pregnant again. "What? Six weeks! Really? Doc, I lose count a how many times a night a night we have sex, and most times in the mornin's too. Ya got me spoiled. How am I supposed ta go six whole weeks without ya and yer sweet pussy?"

I chuckled and shook my head. "Well... you were the one who showed me before we ever had sex that there are many ways to take care of those needs without actual intercourse. I guess we'll just have ta get creative again. But don't ya think you should take advantage of every opportunity that we have now...?" Of course he saw the logic in that reasoning and agreed by pulling me back into bed for another round.

Daryl, Max, and Roe were fascinated by the movements of the being growing inside me. Daryl had even gotten into the habit of pulling my tank top up to expose my belly every night after dinner when we sat on the sofa or porch swing. Then he would put his face to my belly and talk to the baby. This usually resulted in the baby starting to squirm and wiggle. He even involved Mercy in jabbering to my belly and placing kisses on it every day.

It was a completely different experience for me with this pregnancy to have my partner be so excited over each little detail of the pregnancy. Roe had been supportive when I was pregnant with Mercy, but it wasn't the same as Daryl's excitement over his impending fatherhood. It was so sweet to see my big, tough, redneck husband gone all mushy and soft.

He had also become even more doting over Mercy. It was almost as if his involvement in this pregnancy made him more attentive to her. He took her with him everywhere he was able, gave in to her every request, played with her at every opportunity, and just generally spoiled her rotten.

Things had settled into a routine in Alexandria. Daryl and Aaron continued to work with Max four or five days a week in coordinating and overseeing patrols, mapping out areas that had been cleared, and making plans for future scavenging efforts. Roe was at the Hilltop at least three nights each week as he supervised patrols back and forth between the communities.

I was working in the infirmary three days a week. Rick had assigned me an apprentice. His name was Gavin. He was a very serious and quiet 16 year old. He had done particularly well in science in school and wanted to become a doctor. He joined me at the infirmary as I worked, and during our down time I went over medical textbooks with him teaching him microbiology, and anatomy and physiology. Rosita continued to help out and staffed the infirmary for a few hours on my days off.

Michonne and I continued to grow closer as we spent more and more time together. She and Rick were still our closest friends. We had taken them to the cabin the month before and spent a whole week there with our families. Max and Carl had a blast fishing and playing on the lake. The warm summer weather even made swimming possible. Daryl and Rick spent quite a bit of time splashing around with Mercy and Judith in the water. Every night we played board games or pool after dinner. It had been a very fun and relaxing vacation for everyone. We started planning a return trip in the fall after the baby came.