These Awkward Moments

Chapter 52 Decisions

Delilah's POV
I blinked at my brother. "What do you mean? You said 'we'. You don't mean Me and Daryl, do you?"

Roe shook his head and held up his hand. "Hear me out. I mean... we obviously haven't had a lot a time to discuss this in detail... but Paul and I want to adopt her. This might be our only chance ta have a child. We know we can't feed her solids for a few months, and she'll still need breast milk until she's at least a year old. I know it's a lot ta ask, but what if we lived here? You could breast feed the babies, and we could help with everything else so it wouldn't be a lot of extra stress and work for ya. We could work together to figure out all the details of it, but what do ya think so far?"

I looked at Daryl, who was already looking at me. Neither one of us were sure about how to respond. "How 'bout y'all give us a few minutes ta talk things over?"

Bowyn was done eating and I sat him up to burp him. Roe and Jesus went downstairs, and Max took Mercy upstairs to play. I looked at Daryl. "So? What do ya think?"

Daryl shrugged and put his arm around me. "Well, the thing that concerns me most is how difficult this would be for you. You only had Bowyn a little over a month ago. Is this something that might be hard for ya physically? Do ya think you'll be able ta make enough milk for both babies and for Mercy? And then what about the emotional part of it? Won't ya get awfully attached to a baby you're breastfeedin'?"

Daryl took Bowyn from me and snuggled him into his arms. I watched as Daryl bent to kiss the top of Bowyn's sleeping head. "Does any a that really matter? I can't tell them no and deny them what you have in your arms and heart right now Daryl."

He looked up into my eyes. "Delilah, I swear you're the most lovin' person I've ever met in my life. That's a pretty amazing sacrifice to be willin' ta make for them, even if Roe is yer brother."

I shrugged. "I love him Daryl. He's my brother. I had already started thinkin' about the idea of being a surrogate for them. That would have meant putting our plans for adding to our family on hold.... and tryin' ta figure out a reliable way of gettin' Paul's sperm into me. I knew you might have some objection to that. This might actually work out ta be a much better arrangement. Breastfeedin' two babies isn't a lot more work than one. Moms of twins do it all the time. I'm pretty sure that after a couple of days my milk supply will catch up with demand. And yes, the emotional part of nursin' a baby that isn't mine might be difficult. But not nearly as difficult as giving up a baby that was biologically half mine."

Daryl nodded. "Yeah. I guess when ya look at it like that, it does seem like the best option. And to tell the truth, I was already thinkin' that maybe we should take the lil beauty as one a ours. I just didn't know how ta ask ya if you'd be up to it. But I reckon havin' her as our niece would be the next best thing,"

I smiled. "I may be lovin' Daryl, but you beat all I've ever seen for bein' soft hearted. I swear ya fall in love with babies easier than any man I've ever met."

I kissed him softly on his mouth. He reached his hand to the back of my neck and pulled me closer as he deepened the kiss. My heart rate increased as he ran his tongue around inside my mouth. Daryl pulled back and murmured against my mouth, "Heart's the only part a me that's soft when it comes ta my wife though. I ain't forgot our conversation before I left Doc. Ya know we got plans for tonight."

I nodded, a bit breathless from my reaction to him. "Oh I ain't forgot either Mr. Dixon. You're gonna be keepin' some promises darlin'."